Field Museum Opens Major Exhibition on Chicago's Indigenous History, Drawing Thousands in First Week

Long before the first settlers arrived at the mouth of the Chicago River, long before Jean Baptiste Point du Sable established his trading post, and long before the Great Fire reshaped the city’s destiny, Indigenous peoples called this land home.

Their story—spanning more than 14,000 years and encompassing dozens of nations—is now the subject of “First Peoples of Chicagoland,” a major new exhibition at the Field Museum that has drawn more than 25,000 visitors in its first week. The show represents the most comprehensive examination of the region’s Indigenous history ever mounted by a major Chicago cultural institution.

“We wanted to tell the real story of this place,” said Jayne-Leigh Thomas, the Field Museum’s curator of Native North American anthropology and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. “Chicago exists on Indigenous land. The Indigenous peoples who lived here weren’t a prelude to the city’s history—they are part of that history, and their descendants remain part of this community today.”

From Ice Age to Removal

The exhibition spans the full arc of Indigenous presence in the Chicago region, from the earliest arrivals following the retreat of glaciers some 14,000 years ago through the forced removals of the 1830s that dispossessed Native peoples of their ancestral lands.

Visitors enter through a recreation of the landscape as it appeared at the end of the last Ice Age—a tundra-like environment where early inhabitants hunted mammoth and mastodon. Archaeological artifacts from sites across the region, including spear points and stone tools, illustrate the technological sophistication of these first Chicagoans.

The exhibition then traces the development of increasingly complex societies, including the Mississippian culture that flourished between 800 and 1400 CE. At its peak, the Mississippian city of Cahokia, located just east of present-day St. Louis, was home to an estimated 20,000 people—larger than London at the time.

“Most Chicagoans have no idea that one of the largest cities in the pre-Columbian Americas was basically in our backyard,” Thomas said. “We want people to understand that this region has always been a center of commerce, culture, and innovation.”

The Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa

The heart of the exhibition focuses on the Council of the Three Fires—the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa peoples who inhabited the Chicago region at the time of European contact. Through a combination of historic artifacts, contemporary artworks, and recorded oral histories, the show brings these communities to life with a depth and nuance rarely seen in mainstream museum presentations.

A reconstructed Potawatomi wigwam, built using traditional techniques by members of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, allows visitors to experience the domestic architecture that sustained communities through harsh Midwestern winters. Nearby, a display of wampum belts and treaty documents illustrates the complex diplomatic relationships that Indigenous nations maintained with European colonizers.

“Our ancestors were not passive victims of history,” said Jason Wesaw, tribal historic preservation officer for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and an adviser on the exhibition. “They were skilled negotiators who fought to protect their lands and their way of life. That story deserves to be told.”

The exhibition does not shy away from the violence that accompanied American expansion. A section devoted to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago—which forced the removal of Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa peoples from their homelands—presents the dispossession in unflinching terms, including first-hand accounts from those who experienced the forced march westward.

Living Cultures

Perhaps the exhibition’s most powerful message is that Indigenous peoples are not relics of the past but living communities with ongoing connections to Chicago.

A gallery devoted to contemporary Indigenous life features video interviews with Native Chicagoans from various nations, discussing their experiences living in the urban environment, maintaining cultural traditions, and advocating for Indigenous rights. Works by contemporary Native artists, including Chris Pappan (Kaw/Osage/Cheyenne River Sioux) and Bunky Echo-Hawk (Pawnee/Yakama), challenge stereotypes and assert Indigenous presence in the modern world.

“We are still here,” said Pappan, whose large-scale work “Ghost Dance” greets visitors at the exhibition entrance. “Chicago is still Indigenous land. We never surrendered it—it was taken from us. But our connection to this place remains unbroken.”

The exhibition includes information about the Native American communities that call Chicago home today, including the American Indian Center in Albany Park, one of the oldest urban Indian centers in the country. Visitors are encouraged to support these organizations and learn more about ongoing efforts to revitalize Indigenous languages and cultural practices.

Community Collaboration

The Field Museum developed “First Peoples of Chicagoland” over five years, working closely with tribal nations and local Indigenous communities at every stage. This collaborative approach represented a significant departure from traditional museum practice, which has often treated Indigenous peoples as subjects to be studied rather than partners in presenting their own histories.

“Museums have not always served Indigenous communities well,” acknowledged Julian Siggers, the Field Museum’s president and CEO. “We have been complicit in practices that we now recognize as harmful. This exhibition is part of our commitment to doing better—to building relationships of trust and mutual respect with the communities whose heritage we hold.”

The museum has also begun the process of repatriating sacred objects and ancestral remains to tribal nations under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. While that work is ongoing, museum officials say they are committed to transparency and collaboration with descendant communities.

Critical and Public Reception

“First Peoples of Chicagoland” has drawn praise from critics and scholars alike. The Chicago Tribune called it “essential viewing for anyone who cares about this city’s history,” while the Native publication Indian Country Today described it as “a model for how museums can center Indigenous voices.”

Attendance has exceeded projections, with the museum adding extra weekend hours to accommodate demand. School groups from across the Chicago area have already booked visits through the spring, and the museum is developing educational materials aligned with Illinois learning standards.

The exhibition runs through January 2027, with rotating programming including film screenings, artist talks, and cultural demonstrations scheduled throughout its run. Admission is included with general museum entry, though timed tickets are recommended for weekend visits.

“This is just the beginning of a longer conversation,” Thomas said. “We hope that visitors will leave not just with new knowledge, but with a sense of responsibility—a recognition that we all have a role to play in honoring Indigenous history and supporting Indigenous communities today.”

The Field Museum is located at 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive. General admission is $28 for adults, with discounts available for Illinois residents, students, and seniors. For more information, visit fieldmuseum.org.