Walking piece details
| Cost | Free |
| No longer available |
Whose Lakefront was a procession that took place on October 2, 2021 to mark unceded Native territory in the heart of Chicago’s downtown. In 1914, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians sued Chicago for land along the lakefront. As co-signers of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, they had been forced to give up their land in Illinois up to the shore of Lake Michigan. Since then, the city had created land beyond the shore, including Streeterville, Lincoln Park, and Grant Park, some of the most valuable property in the city. The Pokagon Band argued for the return of this unceded land or payment for its value. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where, predictably, the Potawatomi lost. Mainstream Chicago history rarely includes this story. Whose Lakefront aimed to unsettle assumptions about land, history, and belonging by visibly marking this unceded land in the heart of Chicago’s downtown.
On October 2, 2021, a procession collectively drew a line of red sand along Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River and Museum Campus, tracing the original shoreline of Lake Michigan. Approximately 150 people were part of the procession, a mix of Native and non-Native people, led by Pokagon Band women elders. The lead artist, JeeYeun Lee, worked with a committee of Pokagon Band tribal members and Native residents of Chicago to plan this project. Together we laid down 1,600 pounds of red sand in a line 1.5 miles long, marking the landfill to the east of Michigan Avenue as land unceded in any treaty.
Credits
The project planning committee consisted of: Phoebe Kuo, John Low (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi); Aaron Golding (Seneca); Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe); Billie Warren (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi); Dave Spencer (Mississippi Chata/Dine); Debra Yepa-Pappan (Jemez Pueblo & Korean); Heather Miller (Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma); Jacob Adams (Colville Nation); Madolyn Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi), and Tol Foster (Mvskoke Creek Nation).
Funding support was provided by The Propeller Fund, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Individual Artist Program, and the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency) Individual Artist Support grant.
Website design was donated by Regan Ables, Lucy Angell, Raychel Curry, and Rose Pijak, under the guidance of Professor Chris Myers as part of the Design for Understanding course at University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA.
The project also received support and help from: 35th Ward Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, American Indian Center of Chicago, Apple Michigan Avenue, Chicago Architecture Biennial, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Public Art Program, Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation, Chicago Public Library, Columbia College Chicago, Floating Museum, Hyde Park Art Center, National Louis University. Northwestern University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and University of Illinois at Chicago, Native American Support Program.
Volunteers included: Cecilia Beaven, Sofia Brunwin. Lucia Calderon, Teri Carson, Min Li Chan, Hugo Chavez, DJ Cherry , Ethan Chiu, Lili Christou, Mark Diaz, Nia Easley, Peter Fitzpatrick, Noelle Garcia, Wayde Grinstead, Rhoda Gutierrez, Ana Hedenstrom, Mark Holt, Tiffeny Jimenez, Xochi Juarez, Jane Kim, Viridiana Martinez, David Merz, Frances Lee , Maryrose Pavkovic, Andrea Plamondon, Risa Puleo, Harlan Rosen, Avery Ruse, Morgan Sannes, Sara Slawnik, Kate Snider, Karen Su, Paul Teruel, Allen Turner, Lydia Winklbauer, Zespo.
