Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland

Takes a collaborative approach to prioritize the voices of indigenous artists of Chicagoland

Zhegagoynak, also called Chicagoland, has long been an Indigenous cultural and economic hub. It is the traditional homeland of the Council of Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa—as well as the Menominee, Miami, Ho-Chunk, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo, and Illinois nations. Today, Chicago has the third largest urban Indian population in the United States. Indigenous voices, however, are often absent from stories of Chicagoland. This silence is damaging. Woven Being begins with the question, What if Indigenous people with ties to the region were the point of entry for thinking about this land?

Guided by Indigenous collaborations, priorities, and voices, this work explores expansive themes, resisting the monolithic storytelling that often characterizes presentations shaped by settler-colonial perspectives and practices. The book is developed in collaboration with four artists who have connections to Zhegagoynak—Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe), Kelly Church (Match-E-Be-Nash-E-Wish Band of Pottawatomi), Nora Moore Lloyd (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe), and Jason Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi). Authors with deep ties to the artists introduce and expand on the artists’ contributions from their own disciplinary and personal vantage points. Excerpts of poetry, prose, and images, chosen in dialogue with the artists, further expand the narrative. An addendum highlights the frequently underrecognized work of Chicago-based Indigenous artists and institutions.

Woven Being offers a new look at art in Chicagoland and its relationship with Indigenous arts across Turtle Island (North America).