The Negotiator: Billy Caldwell
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Join the Department of Sociology & Anthropology and the Office for CARE for a film and discussion honoring Native American Heritage Month.
This documentary examines the 1829 and 1833 land treaties that resulted in the removal of all Native American tribes from the state of Illinois.
Billy Caldwell, son of a Mohawk woman and British Army Captain, William Caldwell was a leader in early Chicago. Although he was not a blood relative of the Great Lakes tribes that resided in the area, Caldwell worked to negotiate the safe passage of the United Nations of Chippawa, Ottawa and Potawatomi out of the state of Illinois and west to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Why didn't Billy Caldwell stay in Chicago? Why did he leave and live his final days in Council Bluffs, Iowa? What was his intention in signing the treaties? Today, Mr. Caldwell's Band of Prairie People live in Mayetta, Kansas as the federally-recognized tribe of Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. This documentary explores the film topic through research and interviews with local subject experts.
On Campus Accessibility Accommodations:
Contact Kirsten Schramm at 847-735-5167 or kschramm@lakeforest.edu at least 72 hours in advance.