Native American women in history program set in Bishop Hill

Linda Cook
·1 min read
Native American women in history program set in Bishop Hill

On Saturday, April 6, the Bishop Hill Heritage Association will host “Singing Bird and the Importance of Native American Women in Illinois History,” according to a news release. The program will be provided by the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speaker Bureau.

Dressed in her native regalia, Kim Sigafus McIver gives a history of Native Americans in Illinois with a focus on Native women, or what was considered “The Hidden Half.” Her primary focus is women such as Singing Bird (Blackhawk’s wife) and Hononegah.

Kim Sigafus McIver (BIshop Hill Heritage Association)
Kim Sigafus McIver (BIshop Hill Heritage Association)

McIver will bring the audience into these women’s day-to-day lives, including courting, marriage, and child-rearing. She will also talk about their role in their husbands’ lives, and how those lives affected the history of Illinois.

Additionally, she will bring items that women would have used in their daily lives, as she discusses the role women played within the family unit. The audience will be able to pick up and view the items, learn Native language and music, and get the chance to play the drum in this interactive experience.

Steeple Building, Bishop Hill (Bishop Hill Heritage Association)
Steeple Building, Bishop Hill (Bishop Hill Heritage Association)

This free one-hour public program will start at 1 p.m. in the Steeple Building Museum, 103 N. Bishop Hill Street in Bishop Hill. For more details, information, call 309-927-3899, email bhha@mymctc.net, or visit here.

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