The Black trader who became the first non-Indigenous settler of Chicago
In short: Before the skyscrapers and the bustling streets, there was a single cabin on the river's northern bank. Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Black trader of Haitian origin, established a prosperous settlement that laid the groundwork for a global metropolis, yet his legacy remains a subject of historical debate.
Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was likely born around 1745 on the island of Haiti, the child of a French father and a Black enslaved mother. After receiving an education in France, he traveled to New Orleans before navigating up the Mississippi River to the Illinois region. By approximately 1779, he had established a cabin and trading post on the northern bank of the Chicago River, making him the first non-Indigenous person to settle in the area.
His success was deeply intertwined with his wife, Kitihawa, an Indigenous woman likely of the Potawatomi people. Kitihawa served as a vital linguistic liaison, allowing DuSable to trade furs and alcohol with nearby Native American villages and European explorers using the Great Lakes-to-Mississippi portage. This partnership helped build a prosperous settlement, though the couple only resided by the river for about a year before moving west to St. Charles, Missouri, in 1800.
While DuSable is often celebrated as Chicago's founder, the title is contested by historians and Indigenous leaders. Critics argue that calling him a 'founder' risks myth-making and erases the essential role played by the thousands of Algonquian language-speaking families already living in the region. Furthermore, some historians point out that traders like DuSable acted as the 'advance guard' for settler colonialism and the eventual displacement of Native tribes following the 1833 Treaty of Chicago.
Despite these complexities, DuSable's influence is increasingly recognized. By a 33 to 15 margin, Chicago officials decided in June 2021 to rename the famous 17-mile Lake Shore Drive as Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive, commemorating his status as a Midwestern city founder.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Who Was Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, the New Namesake of Chicago's Lake Shore Drive?
- Also: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable
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