Historian to Highlight Notre Dame's Native American Roots

Historian Ben Secunda, Ph.D., will discuss the surprisingly little-known and complex relationship between the University of Notre Dame and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians in a talk Sunday, June 8, at 1 p.m. at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, 3001 Central St., Evanston.

In his talk titled "Notre Dame and the Pokagon Potawatomi,” Secunda will explain how the Potawatomi in northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan — the region known as Michiana — forged an alliance with the Catholic Church in the 1830s in a successful effort to prevent their forced relocation to the West by the federal government and white pro-removal advocates.

According to Secunda, who holds a doctorate in history from Notre Dame, the university and its sister school, St. Mary’s College, owe their existence to land and money provided long ago by the local Potawatomi.

Secunda says the story, with its vivid personalities like Leopold Pokagon and Fr. Stephen T. Badin, illustrates “how intensely personal the seemingly impersonal forces of history actually are. And it shows just how much of an influence Native Americans have had on local and regional history and community development.”

Admission to the presentation is free with an entrance donation to the museum. Suggested donation is $5 for adults; $2.50 for seniors, students, and children. Maximum suggested admission per family is $10. For information, phone (847) 475-1030. On the Net: www.mitchellmuseum.org.