TISKILWA — Throughout the years, Tiskilwa’s one-of-a-kind name has engendered special interest and admiration for the Potawatomi people who first settled their “Gem of the Valley” in 1759. On Monday, Oct. 8, Robert Morrissey will present a program that he has titled “At the Center of Everything: The Power of Indigenous People of Illinois.” This one-hour event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at the Tiskilwa’s Museum on Main.
A programming grant from the Illinois Humanities Council has assisted the Tiskilwa Historical Society in hosting University of Illinois Associate Professor Bob Morrissey, whose special interest is the accomplishments of indigenous people who were the first to call this area their home.
Using narratives and images, Morrissey tells a new story that challenges the old stereotypes of the native peoples as beleaguered and defeated. To prove his thesis, he’ll demonstrate how their innovation and pragmatism had major influence throughout the Great Lakes and Plains regions, as well as in distant Quebec and Louisiana. His audience will come away with a better understanding of early Illinois country and its residents. He states that Native Americans “belong at the center of key themes in American history.”
Following the program, the society will provide refreshments and host a social time in the galleries.
