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The Red Line Project, a new site covering Chicago neighborhoods located off the Red Line El stops, was created by Online Journalism II students at DePaul University’s College of Communication. The site soft-launched in early January and will begin regular updates in February.

A mural in the American Indian Center showing the traditional and urban connections of the Native American community. (Photo by Maria Baglien)

By Alaina Africano and Maria Baglien

There is no word for “good-bye” in her language, said Catheryn St. Germaine, who affiliates herself with the Ojibwe and Odawa tribes. As the desk receptionist for the American Indian Center of Chicago, St. Germaine helps to promote the mission of the center, which is to keep the presence of Native Americans alive in Chicago.

The American Indian Center (AIC) of Chicago, located at 1630 W. Wilson Ave., was created in 1953 as a result of Native Americans being forced off of their reservations to go live in cities and assimilate to what is known as the white man’s culture.

The coordinator of professional development at the American Indian Center, Adam Kessel, who affiliates himself with the Lakota tribe, and the special events coordinator Cyndee Fox-Starr, who refers to himself as Omaha-Odawa or Bear clan, talked about experiences his parents had at a boarding school that tried to rid them of their cultural beliefs.

Podcast: Kessel and Fox-Starr share their stories about how the U.S. government tried to take away Native American culture from their families, and how those events impact Native Americans today:

Native Chicago by Alaina Africano and Maria Baglien by user7417997

Kessel passionately talks about the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 that resulted in the dehumanization of Native Americans. As a result of this act, the number of Native Americans in urban places increased. Thus, communities such as the AIC were necessary to keep Native American culture alive in large cities.

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