Isle a la Cache presents 'Indige-Facts,' a Native American exhibit

A new traveling exhibit coming to the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville will help visitors educate themselves on contemporary Native life in the United States.

The free “Indige-Facts” exhibit runs from Saturday, Sept. 21, to Sunday, Dec. 8. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston created the traveling exhibit, which is on loan to Isle a la Cache Museum.

Two related programs will be held at the museum in conjunction with the exhibit: No One Ever Sees Indians – Native Americans in Media: 1-2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21; and Potawatomi Beadwork for Beginners: 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14. Program registration is required at least two days in advance; call 815-722-9301.

The exhibit raises and answers questions that can be challenging to answer such as: Are Native Americans U.S. citizens? How many Indigenous people live in this country? Do all American Indians live on reservations? What are the right words to describe the people who have always lived here? The traveling exhibit covers topics ranging from accepted terminology to population size to the sovereign rights of Native people.

The exhibit includes two new panels that focus on recently passed laws in Illinois that protect Native peoples. And it highlights the fact that the state is now home to a federally recognized Tribe, said Jen Guest, facility supervisor at Isle a la Cache Museum. Also, museum staff expanded the exhibit with various works from Native artists and information from other Native organizations, Guest said.

“We are making a continual effort to work with Native community members and Native organizations while also reaching out to Tribal leaders,” she added. “We are committed to amplifying the voices of Native peoples to share their own cultural histories and stories.”

The exhibit expands Isle a la Cache’s interpretive focus on the 18th-century Fur Trade Era, said Sara Russell, a Forest Preserve interpretive naturalist.

“Many visitors see Native Americans frozen in time, never changing or existing in the modern world,” Russell said. The reality is the fur trade was just a tiny slice of Native history. Native peoples were here; they are still here.”

The exhibit is brought to Isle a la Cache Museum through the generous support of The Nature Foundation of Will County.

For more information on the Forest Preserve District of Will County, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.