Letter to Jean Baptiste Point DuSable

Sak Pase to a proud Haitian man! Greetings from a modern day Chicagoan! 

Or as you knew it, Eschecagou (“land of the wild onions”),  the name Natives gave what we now know as Chicago. This grand city has grown from those marshy wetlands you and your Potawatomi wife, Kitihawa, settled on back in the mid 1780s. You are now widely recognized as Chicago’s first permanent settler. You were so much more than that!

A diplomatic and prosperous trader, entrepreneur, fur trapper, and farmer! The part of your history that has stood out to me is that you were a naturalized citizen of the Potawatomi tribe! This distinguishes you from a simple settler. Native kinship, like Haitian kinship, is not based solely on blood – it is based on relationships.You were kin! Your naturalization was genuine acceptance by the Native nation. So, thank you for building this city in peace. 

Standing the Test of Time : Your Legacy

There have been many attempts to diminish your name by technicalities. However, the truth prevails. One of the written accounts of you describe you as a “handsome Negro”. However, many have argued you were not of African descent at all. To me, it’s no doubt you were Black. Regardless of your descendancy, you have lived the experience of a Black man in America: Being persecuted for not having identification papers when traveling (and ALMOST enslaved, if not for a couple Jesuits) Being arrested on false suspicion of being a spy during the American Revolutionary War (suspicion resulting from being able to speak several languages, including French, Spanish, and Native American dialects). 

Many people have tried to wrangle the title of “Founding Father of Chicago” from you. They pointed to John Kinzie as the first European settler, but that is you, as you are technically also of European descent (being born to a French father and enslaved African mother). They’ve tried to point back to him as the first European AND PERMANENT resident, since you left eventually, but that title still belongs in your family – to your daughter, as she is of European descent as well since you were multi-racial. All has been cleared up by either archived records or your descendants (By the way, your granddaughter ends up being the first child born in Chicago, in 1796).

We suspect when you sold all your property and moved away in 1800, it’s suspected it was due to pressure from European settlers to sell your land to the newly established American government. Your presence is lasting! From bridges to high schools to streets, your legacy will live on. A replica of your cabin was featured as an exhibit at the 1933 World’s Fair. 

We will never stop singing your praises!