The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation recently regained sovereignty over land it lost in 1850, as 130 acres of farmland in DeKalb County, Illinois was taken into federal trust.
Joseph Rupnick, chair of the Mayetta, Kansas-based tribe, said there are no plans “at this time” to open a casino there.
According to WREX, he said, “We’re pretty isolated and surrounded by casinos all over the place, and we don’t really have an ease of access from any major roadways or anything like that. I think we need to look at what best suits us from where we’re at today.”
To that end, the tribe hired a consulting firm. “We’re just in the very beginning stages of that, where that firm is going to analyze the best use of that land, and what we can possibly do to benefit both the nation and the surrounding community,” Rupnick said.
Rupnick explained the northern Illinois site was part of the large Shab-eh-nay or Shabbona Reservation, named for Rupnick’s ancestor, the 19th century Potawatomi Chief Shab-eh-nay. The land was sold illegally in 1850 while the chief was visiting other tribal territories in Kansas, Rupnick said.
The Prairie Band Potawatomi tribal government bought the land about 15 years ago sovereign authority wasn’t granted until recently. “I think Prairie Band is the first tribal nation that was able to reclaim land that they were removed from during the Indian Removal period, three states away from their home base,” Rupnick said, per WREX.
The tract is located next to the 1,500-acre Shabbona Lake Park, which the tribe also would like to acquire. The Illinois House is considering HB4718 which would transfer the land to the Prairie Band. Rupnick said the tribe would maintain it as a public park. He noted a small part of it is within the former Shab-eh-nay Reservation, but the entire property would be eligible for sovereign land status.
