Rep. Deb Haaland to Visit American Indian Center of Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 16th

Rep. Deb Haaland

Published February 8, 2019

CHICAGO — The American Indian Center of Chicago announced on Thursday that Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) will visit the center on Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. – CST.

The American Indian Center of Chicago is the oldest urban American Indian organization in the United States. Founded in 1953, the Center became a haven for American Indians who came to Chicago from Indian reservations because of the Indian Relocation Act. Today, Chicago is home to the third largest urban American Indian population in the country. Today some 65,000 American Indians live in the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

“We are excited to have Congresswoman Haaland come to visit us,” said Heather Miller (Wyandotte), Executive Director of the American Indian Center. “We got confirmation on Wednesday afternoon she will visit our Center.”

Miller says the timing is great because the annual community meeting takes place on the same date.

“After getting confirmation she was coming. we decided to have a powwow in Rep. Haaland’s honor on Saturday night. The meeting will end in the late afternoon and we are going to have a dinner; then we will begin the powwow at 6 p.m. Rep. Haaland will arrive at 7 p.m. We will do an honor song for her,” says Miller.

Rep. Haaland is a tribal citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna. She was elected to Congress last November. She and Rep. Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk) became the first American Indian women ever when sworn into the 116th Congress last month.

The American Indian Center of Chicago is located at 3401 W. Ainslie Street, Chicago, Illinois 60625

 

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