Tribe restoring land to its native state

Rural crop assistant Duane Daugherty plants sections of former farmland with with seeds of native grasses outside Shabbona, Ill., on Tuesday June 16, 2009. (Beck Diefenbach – bdiefenbach@daily-chronicle.com)

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SHABBONA – A tractor hauled a planter in even rows across a farm field in rural Shabbona Tuesday, but the seeds it was planting were neither corn nor soybeans – they were a blend of prairie grasses.

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, a Kansas-based American Indian tribe, is restoring 125 of the 128 acres that it owns on University Road to a native prairie state. The land had been planted with row crops.

“Back home, we try to plant anything we can into grass native to that area, and that’s what we’re trying to do in this area, too,” said Chris DeCoteau, the tribe’s land manager.

The tribe purchased the land in 2006 with plans to build a government center and an electronic bingo parlor. In order to operate the bingo facility, the tribe would have to get a declaration from the federal government that the land is a reservation, a decision that has not yet been reached.

Tribal officials had decided it was time to do something with the land, DeCoteau said. The tribe purchased a seed blend of Illinois prairie plants and hired a local company to spray for weeds before planting. Returning the land to its native state will have benefits for the neighboring Shabbona Lake State Park, DeCoteau said, by reducing the amount of sediment washing into the lake.

“That entire farm, except for one tiny piece, is in the watershed of Shabbona Lake,” state park superintendent Kerry Novak said. “Taking that much farmland and putting it into a permanent grass base will cut down on a great deal of sediment and erosion that would otherwise be transported to the lake.”

The prairie will also provide diverse habitat for wildlife from the forest preserve, particularly songbirds and game birds, Novak said.

“Between the benefits for wildlife and the benefits for water quality, we’re very happy this is going to happen,” he said.

Shabbona Mayor Claudia Hicks and trustee Pat McCormick said they were glad to see something was being done with the land. Though the property is not within the village limits, the Potawatomi and village officials have developed a relationship, Hicks said.

“They’ve been very good neighbors and we’re trying to be good neighbors,” she said.

Workers with the tribe expect to finish seeding the land by early Thursday, DeCoteau said. He estimated it will take three to five years before the prairie becomes firmly established, based on his experience in Kansas, but praised the quality of the local soil.

“We would love to have ground like this back home. This is A-1 property,” he said. “If it comes up like it does back home – which I’m sure it will with the soils here – it ought to produce a real nice stand of grass.”

No word yet on reservation status

There has been no word from the National Indian Gaming Commission on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation's petition to have its Shabbona property declared a reservation, DeKalb County Administrator Ray Bockman said Tuesday.

"We've not heard a word. They've been absolutely silent," he said.

In April 2006, the Potawatomi bought 128 acres of land for $8.8 million. The tribe has proposed building a small government center and a 24-hour electronic bingo hall on the property. But for the tribe to legally operate a gaming facility – such as the bingo hall – the property must be recognized by the federal government as a reservation.

There is no indication of when the commission might make its decision. A phone message left for a commission spokesman was not immediately returned.

The Potawatomi claim that the land is part of 1,280 acres given to Chief Shab-eh-nay in an 1829 treaty. The Potawatomi, descendants of Shab-eh-nay’s band, say their rights to the land never were extinguished, making the land a reservation.

In a written statement, tribal council chairman Steve Ortiz said the tribe has no control over the government time frame, but remains convinced the land is a reservation.

"The Nation remains focused not on any declaration from the federal government, but on local partnership and cooperation," he said in the statement.

The tribe reached intergovernmental agreements last year with the county and the village of Shabbona should the land acquire reservation status. That would exempt it from taxes, so the agreements spell out the obligations of the tribe to local government bodies, such as payments for water, sewer and police and fire protection.