DeKalb County Board rejects supporting Potawatomi land reclamation efforts in party-line vote

SHABBONA – Despite previously indicating its intent to support the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s efforts to reclaim nearby Shabbona land, the DeKalb County Board this week denied that request in a partisan split vote.

Twelve county board members – all Republicans – voted against the measure that would have included writing a letter of support to federal legislators as the Potawatomi seek reclamation, while 10 members – all Democrats – voted in favor of it Wednesday. County Board members Kiara Jones and Roy Plote were absent from the meeting.

“I don’t think this is in the best interest of the county,” board chairman John Frieders said before the vote.

Frieders previously said in October 2021 that addressing the land reclamation efforts of the Nation was “one of the top priorities of the County Board” and that the county was “going to support this moving forward.”

Joseph Rupnick, chairman for the Nation, said in an email to the Daily Chronicle on Thursday that while the Potawatomi was hopeful for the board’s support, it wasn’t surprised by the party-line vote.

“Changing people’s perspective is never easy, especially when it comes to a historical injustice that doesn’t affect the day-to-day lives of people who’ve never had their land illegally stolen from them,” Rupnick said. “[Wednesday’s] vote means we have much more work to do to correct this historical wrong and we plan to do it without disruption to the homeowners who currently live on our reservation.”

A federal land reclamation act filed by a Kansas senator in November had renewed hopes for the Nation’s pursuits for the Shabbona land in southern DeKalb County.

However, Frieders said after the Wednesday vote he believed the federal bill’s language was still too vague. He said he had questions related to the amount of money which might need to be paid to the nation as a settlement or whether the land would be in DeKalb, Lee or Ogle counties.

“I struggle with the idea of things that have happened a century ago, going on two centuries ago now,” Frieders said.

The Potawatomi Nation long has sought to reclaim 1,280 acres of land near Shabbona State Park in the southern part of DeKalb County. Under the Federal Non-Intercourse Act, the U.S. Congress is the only governing body with the authority to designate land titles for native nations. The land illegally was sold by the federal government in 1849 after Potawatomi Chief Shab-eh-nay was evicted from the land.

Rupnick also responded to County Board members’ concerns voiced Wednesday that if the land were returned to the Potawatomi Nation, it would come off the local tax rolls.

“I feel that’s not a justification for voting down a resolution when the county has profited off of land for 170 years that isn’t even legally theirs,” Rupnick said.

The matter was put forward to the County Board several times in recent months. The board’s support stalled in November, however, as members said they wished to wait on writing a requested letter of support for the Potawatomi until federal legislation was brought forth.

Potawatomi Nation representatives confirmed the land in question is located to the west of Interstate 39, in between U.S. Route 30 and Interstate 88, and east of Illinois Route 23. County officials confirmed the 1,280 acres would come off the county’s tax roles if the Nation reclaimed the land, since Native American reservation land is tax-exempt at the local, state and federal levels, and could mean more than $76,000 per year in lost revenue.

DeKalb County Board member Patrick Deutsch, who voted against the support, said he was concerned the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t have jurisdiction over the reservation land or government zoning regulations. He said lost tax revenue could mean less money for nearby fire protection districts.

“There’s a whole conglomeration of things that were running through my mind,” Deutsch said. “I’m not totally sold on that.”

Rupnick previously said the Potawatomi Nation believes there always has been an indigenous reservation in Illinois since 1829, when the nation signed the Treaty of Prairie du Chien with the U.S. government. However, he said the Potawatomi Nation feels it has been denied the land since then after Rupnick’s fourth great grandfather Chief Shab-eh-nay was evicted from the land, which was sold without the chief’s consent in 1849, while visiting relatives in Kansas.

“We’re hoping that we can use this bill to recognize our claim, our legitimate claim, to that reservation and to utilize that land as best we see fit,” Rupnick said Feb. 9.

The land title was then passed to non-Native Americans. Robert Odawi Porter, lawyer for the Potawatomi Nation, also said Feb. 9 the U.S. Department of Interior acknowledged decades ago that the federal government illegally had sold Shab-eh-nay’s land in 1849.

Frieders said he’s not certain if the issue can be resolved from the county’s side. He said he believes it’s up to the federal government, and that it’s not vital for the nation to get the county’s blessing in order to move forward.

“The federal government is going to do what the federal government is going to do,” Frieders said.

What’s in the proposed federal bill

According to U.S. Congress records, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation Settlement Act of 2021 was introduced by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, on Nov. 18, 2021.

Rupnick said nation officials are working with area U.S. House representatives to start a similar bill.

According to the federal bill, any human or cultural remains within the land owned by the state of Illinois and the local governments within the boundaries of the reservation would be protected. The bill also says the federal government would pay $10 million to the tribe as a partial settlement for the tribe’s economic development and land acquisition purposes.

“The 10 million reflects really a lot of the costs that the nation has expended over the years to try to get its land back,” Porter said on Wednesday.

Porter said the Potawatomi Nation is trying to avoid filing a lawsuit to reclaim the land.

“Which, at the end of the day, is disruptive, expensive and inconclusive,” Porter said. “Because then that has to come back to the Congress anyway in the event of a settlement.”

The reclamation efforts have been pursued by the Potawatomi Nation for years.

In 2015, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation approached the County Board for its blessing to open a Class 2 casino, which would include only bingo, in Shabbona. Rupnick previously said the reclamation request is not related to the formerly proposed casino. He said Wednesday there is already a casino about 30 miles north of the area and a casino coming to Rockford.

“And to be quite honest with you, I think the area is saturated with casinos,” Rupnick said.

Rupnick said the Potawatomi Nation isn’t sure about definite plans for the land and won’t know until the land issue is settled. He said nation officials would look at a feasibility study and try to figure out what the nation’s actually going to do once it gets the land settled.

Deeds for homeowners within the reservation are subject to all rights, claims or title to the descendants of the Potawatomi Nation’s chief and his band, according to representatives. The legislation would wipe the clause from those deeds to assure homeowners their property is theirs without condition.