Cheetah Gym Andersonville

We at Cheetah Gym Andersonville gratefully acknowledge that we work and live on the ancestral and unceded (stolen) lands of the Three Fires Council – the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe), Odawak (Odawa), and Bodéwadmik (Potawatomi) Nations – as well as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo, and Illinois Nations. Today, this land remains home to one of the largest urban Native American communities in the United States.

We strive to work in ways that reflect the importance of interconnectedness and community while acknowledging how we benefit from and contribute to oppressive systems. We are committed to using our power and privilege to mitigate harm wherever we can. This requires recognizing the limitations of our roles and supporting those better positioned than we are to make specific, impactful changes. In the community, we remain committed to addressing cultural inequality, discrimination, privilege, and capitalism, both within larger systems and within ourselves, to make space for dialogue and growth.

Resources:

American Indian Center of Chicago – The American Indian Center of Chicago was founded in 1953 to provide a community and resources for Native Americans who relocated to Chicago after the U.S. government’s relocation program. The AIC provides a place for urban Native Americans to connect, with a focus on services such as cultural classes and events, senior lunches, and programs for Native youth.

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian – Founded in 1977, the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian is an Evanston-based museum featuring indigenous art exhibits, storytelling and music events, and informational talks.

Native Land Digital – This Canadian nonprofit aims to provide education and create conversation with its interactive map, which focuses on Native American and First Nation tribal territories, treaties, and languages, and includes worldwide Indigenous populations. Resources on its website include a teacher’s guide and links to its app.

Three Fires Council – Historically, the Three Fires Council is a collective alliance of the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe), Odawak (Odawa), and Bodéwadmik (Potawatomi) Nations, who were based in and around the Great Lakes and Chicago area. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the three tribes were connected for hundreds of years through trade networks and shared cultural practices and the Algonquian language.

“‘We’re Still Here’: Chicago’s Native American Community” – This WTTW article by Daniel Hautzinger provides a history of the Chicagoland Native presence before and after Europeans’ arrival and the struggles Natives faced when relocated from reservations to urban areas. The article also features the work being done at the American Indian Center of Chicago.