Listen to an audio recording of this program.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians has been a part of Chicago since its founding. In very public expressions of indigeneity, they have refused to hide in plain sight or assimilate. Instead, throughout the city’s history, the Pokagon Potawatomi Indians have openly and aggressively expressed their refusal to be marginalized or forgotten—and in doing so, they have contributed to the fabric and history of the city.
Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the City of Chicago examines the ways some Pokagon Potawatomi tribal members have maintained a distinct Native identity, their rejection of assimilation into the mainstream, and their desire for inclusion in the larger contemporary society without forfeiting their “Indianness.” Mindful that contact is never a one-way street, Dr. Low also examines the ways in which experiences in Chicago have influenced the Pokagon Potawatomi. Imprints continues the recent scholarship on the urban Indian experience before as well as after World War II.
Low will be interviewed by Jesse Dukes, Audio Producer for WBEZ Chicago and author of the interactive website, Without Native Americans, Would We Have Chicago as We Know It?. Following their conversation, Low will sign copies of the book, which will be available in the Newberry Bookstore.
Download a PDF flyer for this event to post and distribute, and a Quick Guide to related materials in the Newberry collection.
John N. Low (Pokagon Potawatomi) is Assistant Professor of Comparative Studies at the Ohio State University Newark, where his research and teaching encompass many aspects of American Indian histories, literatures, and cultures. He has previously served as Executive Director of the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston, as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Indians of the Midwest Project at the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the Newberry Library, and on the State of Ohio Cemetery Law Task Force. He continues to serve as a member of his tribe's Traditions & Repatriation Committee.
Jesse Dukes is WBEZ Chicago’s Curious City Audio Producer. Curious City answers questions about Chicago, the region, and its people. He works with contributors as well as reporting stories for the project. Before WBEZ, Jesse was an independent writer and radio producer based in Virginia. He worked with the public radio program Backstory and occasionally led student trips to Tanzania for the University of Virginia as well as hiking, kayaking, and canoeing trips in Maine.
Co-sponsored with WBEZ 91.5 FM Chicago.
Your generosity is vital in keeping the library’s programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone. Make a donation today.