The place we currently call western Illinois was densely populated and visited by Native people in the early nineteenth century, from nations including the Dakota, Kickapoo, Meskwaki, Miami, Peoria, Potawatomi, and Sauk. These posts explore some of that history, and connect the past to the present: Native nations did not simply disappear from Illinois, but were forcibly removed to the places where they now maintain their communities, culture, spiritual practices, and languages.