WARNING: Photos show the depiction of the separation of Native families and the removal of Native women and children by organized religion.
Illinois Centennial Monument
Subject: Illinois Centennial Monument (Logan Square Park)
Series: Native Chicago
Location: Chicago (Logan Square), IL.
Address: 3150 W. Logan Blvd, Chicago, IL 60647 (map)
Date: 12/23/2023
Camera: Fuji X100V
Engraving Inscription
“TO COMMEMORATE THE CENTENARY OF THE ADMISSION OF ILLINOIS AS A SOVEREIGN STATE OF THE AMERICAN UNION DECEMBER THIRD MDCCCXVIII”
History
Note: Non-Native description.
“This monument celebrating the 100th anniversary of the State of Illinois was designed by Henry Bacon, the architect who collaborated with Daniel Chester French on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and executed by Evelyn Beatrice Longman, one of the most successful and prolific sculptors of her time. Longman studied with Chicago sculptor Lorado Taft and worked as an assistant in the studios of Herman Atkins McNeil and Daniel Chester French.
At the foot of the 50-foot Doric column, topped with a rather ungainly eagle, is a circular base with a procession of allegorical personifications of labor, industry, and agriculture. Included are figures of American Indians as well as explorers.”
– Chicago Monuments Project, Illinois Centennial Monument
Links
“Daniel Boone, Hiawatha and Ceres are among those depicted in the base.”
Wikipedia, Illinois Centennial Monument
Photographs
“ERECTED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE B-F-FERGUSON MONUMENT FUND. MCMXVIII”
“TO COMMEMORATE THE CENTENARY OF THE ADMISSION OF ILLINOIS AS A SOVEREIGN STATE OF THE AMERICAN UNION DECEMBER THIRD MDCCCXVIII”
“The eagle at the top of the monument is a reference to the state flag, while the relief figures around the base – Native Americans, explorers, farmers, and laborers – were meant to show the rapid changes that had occurred in Illinois during its first century of statehood.”
Creative Commons License
Native Chicago is a series of artworks by Ihanktonwan Dakota artist David Bernie that discusses the relationship Native American and First Nations communities have with the city of Chicago.
Creative Commons License
This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
