Waukegan Historical Society To host ‘Dancing for Our Tribe’ exhibition

The Waukegan Historical Society is honored to host the special exhibition, “Dancing for Our Tribe: Potawatomi Tradition in the New Millennium,” created by renowned photographer and artist Sharon Hoogstraten. Running through Dec. 5, at the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie, located at 1 N. Sheridan Road, Waukegan, this powerful showcase offers visitors an intimate look at how Native traditions are fiercely preserved, honored and carried forward into the modern world. The exhibition is the culmination of a monumental decade-long project by Hoogstraten, an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. It spotlights 23 stunning, large-scale canvas portraits captured by the artist, who has meticulously documented her people in their full, vibrant regalia to create a permanent visual legacy for future generations. Innovation meets tradition in Hoogstraten’s unique physical design for the show. Suspended from hand-crafted cedar bands, her massive canvas portraits mimic the movement of dance and flowing regalia. She intentionally designed the display so the canvases would “continue to move in the rhythm of the ancestors.” To further deepen the visitor experience, the gallery also showcases authentic, physical regalia curated to accompany the portraits. Pieces on display belong to Hoogstraten, alongside the treasured regalia of the late Gerald Cleveland Sr., a respected member of the Bear Clan of the Ho-Chunk Nation. On loan by permission of his son Gabriel Cleveland—a champion dancer and talented regalia maker—the museum is profoundly honored to share the regalia of a man who served as an influential member to generations of Great Lakes Native dancers. Hoogstraten will return to the Waukegan History Museum at 1 p.m. Nov. 14 for the film screening and discussion of the new documentary “Ouilmette” by filmmaker Susan Roe Musacchio. For information, visit waukeganhistorical.org or call 847-336-1859.