Tribal Relations

American Indians have lived on, and passed through, the land that is now Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie for some 12,000 years. Over the millennia, this land here has been home to many American cultures, societies, and Tribes. Each of these Tribes and their members have their own unique history, culture, traditions, and heritage. Today there are over 20 Federally recognized American Indian Tribes with ancestral ties to Midewin NTGP. These Tribes are not merely a link to the past but are still a vital part of American society today.

The name “Midewin” is the most common transliteration of the name of the medicine society within the Anishinaabeg or Neshnabik. It was chosen to recall the 10,000 to 12,000 years people have been on this land, as well as the efforts to heal the land that are underway here.

We work with Federally recognized American Indian Tribes on issues of shared importance. Tribes are sovereign governments, and this means that the Forest Service has a unique government-to-government relationship and special trust relationship with them.

Working With Tribes Today

Midewin NTGP views Tribes with ancestral ties to Midewin NTGP as partners in the restoration and stewardship of the nation’s only National Tallgrass Prairie. We work to:

Recognize and respect tribal sovereignty;
Understand and fulfill our trust responsibilities and treaty obligations;
Respect traditional knowledge and tribal connection to the land;
Maintain a government-to-government relationship with Federally recognized Tribes; and
Facilitate effective collaboration and consultation between Tribes and Forest Service decision-makers.

Our engagement with Tribes is guided by Federal law, regulations, and policies, as well as relevant treaties. Engagement falls into two main categories—consultation and collaboration.

Consultation

Consultation is a formal, two-way, government-to-government dialogue between official representatives of Tribes and the Forest Service to discuss Forest Service proposals before the Agency makes decisions on those proposals. Tribal consultation has certain legal requirements and is guided by policies. We routinely consult with Tribes on projects that could affect resources and sites of interest.

Collaboration

Collaboration is working together to address matters different parties agree are important. We collaborate with Tribes on topics and issues of shared interest. Some examples include reviewing and contributing to written material and outreach efforts, as well as sharing traditional knowledge of the land with us to help guide our stewardship efforts.

Treaty Rights

From 1778 to 1871, the United States’ relations with individual American Indian nations were defined and conducted largely through the treaty-making process. Treaties with Tribes are considered to be “the supreme law of the land,” and they each recognized and established unique sets of rights, benefits, and conditions for the treaty-making Tribes. Certain Tribes have unique rights to the land in the national tallgrass prairie that are defined and protected by historic treaties. For Midewin NTGP the Treaty of St. Louis of 1816 is the base document for treaty obligations.

Legal Framework

There are many Federal laws, regulations, and policies that create a framework determining how Federal agencies—such as the Forest Service—engage with Federally recognized American Indian Tribes. The following are some noteworthy examples:

Federal Indian Trust Responsibility – A legal obligation under which the United States “has charged itself with moral obligations of the highest responsibility and trust” toward Tribes. The trust responsibility is a legally enforceable fiduciary obligation on the part of the United States to protect tribal treaty rights, lands, assets, and resources, as well as a duty to carry out the mandates of Federal law with respect to American Indian Tribes.

Archeological Resources Protection Act – Requires Federal agencies to consult with Tribal authorities before permitting archeological excavations on Tribal lands. It also mandates the confidentiality of information concerning the nature and location of archeological resources, including Tribal archeological resources.

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act – Provides a process for museums and Federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items—e.g., human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony—to lineal descendants, culturally-affiliated American Indian Tribes. Under Section 3 of the law, repatriation is mandated for Native American cultural items excavated or discovered on federal land after November 16, 1990. The Federal Regulations implementing the law were updated in 2023.

Federally Recognized Indian Tribes with Ancestral Ties to the land that is now Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

The following are present day Federally recognized American Indian Tribes with known or possible ancestral ties to the public land currently managed by the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. This is not a comprehensive list, as there have been other peoples who have lived here whose current-day cultural affiliations or ties have been lost to history. However, we aim to provide as comprehensive of a list as possible.

Contemporary Signatory Tribes of the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis

The 1816 Treaty of St. Louis was signed by the Potawatomi, Ojibwa and Odawa: the Council of Three Fires. In it, those tribes ceded land to the US Government which contains virtually all of Midewin, while retaining hunting and fishing rights within the land so long as it remains the property of the United States. Note that the Treaty of St. Louis of 1816 superseded the Treaty with the Sauk and Foxes (Meskwaki) of 1804, although none of the land addressed in that earlier treaty included the land of modern Midewin. 

The following is a list of the contemporary Federally recognized tribes that are descendants of the signatory Tribes:

Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi

Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi

Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians

Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (KS)

Forest County Potawatomi Community

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians

Hannahville Indian Community

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians

Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians

Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma

Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma

Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska

Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa

Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan

Other Tribes with Ancestral Ties

The following Federally recognized Tribes have ancestral ties to the area that is now Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, but were not signatories of the Treaty of St. Louis of 1816:

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas

Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma

Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas

Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (a confederation of the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Piankashaw and Wea Indians which constitute The Confederated Peorias)

Miami Tribe of Oklahoma

Ho-Chunk Nation

Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska