Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland

Woven Being begins with the question, What if Indigenous people with ties to a region were the point of entry for thinking about the land? 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.  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