A Fond Farewell—And The Next Step
Midwest SOARRING has reached its peak goal this year—land for reburial. With the transfer of a deed for 5.9 acres in Peoria, Illinois, to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, the 6-year search for land ended. The work of repatriation and burial site protection will not and cannot end here, however, the history of Midwest SOARRING can now be closed.
At the Annual Members' Meeting on October 21, 2000, the Board introduced a motion to dissolve the parent organization, Midwest SOARRING, and to transfer all goods, services, etc., to Midwest SOARRING Foundation. The plan was to focus the energies of the Board and membership on current and planned projects that will continue to support repatriation issues, protect and restore mother earth, and provide workshops, community-building events, etc. The motion passed by majority vote, and a new era began.
Midwest SOARRING will become an archives of past information and ongoing reference (via the website), so that access to information will continue for all interested parties. Several Midwest SOARRING Board members will move on to work directly with the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, according to requests for help. The new Board for Midwest SOARRING Foundation will continue fulfilling the goals of its mission statement when it was established in 1996 (see adjacent article, Midwest SOARRING Foundation—A Running Start).
It is the function of any non-profit organization to bring attention to a need, gain supporters and raise funds for the achievement of goals. Once the goals have been achieved, the natural outcome of a successful organization is the creation of community. This is our prize, equal to our greatest achievements—the friendships that developed among us as we struggled side by side from the time of the New Lenox site to the final victory in Peoria. These friendships extend beyond time, and in the Native understanding of life, join with those of the past, present and future.
In salute to the many hours, the blood, sweat and tears, the outpouring of energies from willing hands and overflowing hearts, and the unflagging faith that we would reach our goals if we stood strong together, we list the accomplishments of Midwest SOARRING from 1994-2000:
- Challenged the legality of the Memorandum of Agreement for the New Lenox site, where three ancestral remains were removed in order to construct a golf course in 1994
- Posted the Honor Guard at the New Lenox site from 1994-1995, to stand in honor of the ancestors and educate the public
- Supported the effort to defeat IL HB484 in 1995 which would have removed archeological survey requirements from all privately-owned land
- Nominated the New Lenox site for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), becoming the first Native American organization in the state to seek such national recognition for a Native site, now listed as eligible and formally nominated for the NRHP
- Worked with the American Indian Council of Illinois (AICI) for repatriation and burial, sacred and cultural site preservation
- Monitored the permitting process to track burial excavation requests prior to development
- Provided information tables regarding repatriation and reburial issues via information tables, brochures and the quarterly publication, Wings
- Continually supported efforts to free Native American political prisoner, Leonard Peltier
- Continually supported the efforts to collect clothes, food and toys for Native Reservation and urban communities
- Sponsored 6 Annual Harvest Pow Wows in Honor of the Ancestors, 1995-2000
- Endorsed political candidate, Lois Mayer, an avowed supporter of land preservation, for state representative in Will Cty’s 38th District, 1996
- In a first-time cooperative effort among an archeologist, landholder and Native people in Illinois, gained permission to enter private land at Lake Barrington, IL, to pray at a disturbed burial site in November, 1996
- Sponsored a 74th birthday celebration for our beloved elder, Vince Catches, March, 1997
- With Midwest SOARRING members and the Honor Guard, assisted the Meskwaki Nation by restoring the five damaged burial mounds at Moline, Illinois, in May, 1997
- supported efforts to preserve the Lyman Woods Forest Preserve, Downers Grove, IL, July 1997
- Organized the blessing at the Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester, IL, whose mission is to preserve natural areas and wildlife habitat, July 1997
- Organized the blessing at the re-opening of the Old Plank Trail in Frankfort, IL, July 1997
- Facilitated the removal of the last ancestral remain on display in Illinois, at the Grundy County Historical Society, Morris, IL, February, 1998
- Facilitated the removal of two Native American skulls marked for sale at a flea market by working with the Fish & Wildlife Department to secure confiscation
- Was one of the sponsors of the Conference on the Elimination of Racist Mascots, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, April, 1998
- Sponsored the first Prayer Vigil in Honor of the Ancestors, Springfield, IL, May, 1998
- Worked with the Meskwaki (Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa) to help preserve a site in Wisconsin, June, 1998
- Provided a chapter on the repatriation movement and Midwest SOARRING's history in the book, Native Chicago, September, 1998
- Represented the Native community via Midwest SOARRING members in the Heyworth, Illinois, parade, December, 1998 & 1999
- Worked successfully with eight natural resource preservation agencies to save the Potawatomi Woods site in New Lenox, Illinois, from development as a subdivision
- Was appointed by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska to represent its concerns in Illinois regarding burial site protection and the acquisition of land for reburial, in April, 1999
- Sponsored the Prayer Vigil at the Capitol Building in Springfield, IL, on April 27, 1999, with a lobby effort following, resulting in the passage of Senate Resolution 0108, which urged support for the acquisition of land for reburial and the appointment of a Burial Board with Native representation
- Posted the Honor Guard at the Deer Park site
- where 10 graves were removed to make way for a shopping mall, May, 1999
- Sponsored the third Prayer Vigil in Honor of the Ancestors, New Lenox, IL, April, 2000
- Found land for reburial in Peoria, IL, through William Rutherford who transferred 5.9 acres of land via the Forest Park Foundation to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska on August 1, 2000
The list states the final events of extended periods of planning, and cannot detail the ongoing work by phone, email, website and travel, with countless meetings and hundreds of volunteer hours.
We send thanks beyond words to our advisors, members, supporters and contributors, for we will now go down in history as a group that finished the race. But the best part of this is that we're all winners—the ancestors, those of us who are here today, and the children to come. So our end is but a beginning, and it is fitting to print again our battle cry that heralded our beginnings at the New Lenox site in 1994:
Our people live in a circle, joined together across the generations. The spirits of those who have gone before us, and of those yet to come, join hands with us on our journey in life. We cannot be separated, and the strength of our unity is a power that upholds the earth. To disturb our ancestors is to break a link in the chain that holds us together. And when our lives are broken, all of creation suffers, for we are the keepers of this sacred land.