The four locations of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Naperville, Rockford and Oregon occupy the traditional homelands of Anishinaabe peoples—Niswi-mishkodewinan, also known as the Council of the Three Fires—comprised of the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa. Other Indigenous peoples who call this land home include the Sac and Fox, Kickapoo, Peoria, Miami and Sioux. NIU's occupation of this land is a result of ethnic cleansing and forced relocation of Native Americans in part through the Treaty of St. Louis (1804) and the Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien (1829).
We acknowledge the presence and continued vitality of these and other Native communities in our state and Midwest region, as well as throughout the U.S. and Canada. Today, the sovereign Indigenous nations who were forcibly removed from Illinois are located in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin, among other states. Moreover, one of the largest communities of Native Americans in the Midwest is in the Chicago area.
As an academic institution, Northern Illinois University has a responsibility to acknowledge and redress this colonial legacy. To that end, NIU will educate our students, staff, faculty and visitors, as well as the surrounding community, about this history. Furthermore, as part of NIU's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we seek to build respectful and authentic relationships with Native students, faculty, staff and local and relocated Native communities by promoting student access and success, academic research and artistry and community outreach and engagement.