The Illinois Confederacy survivors whose diplomatic resilience and federal recognition reclaimed a nation from the edge of extinction.
Peoria People — the Native American nation of northeastern Oklahoma whose origins in the Illinois Confederacy, the alliance of Algonquian-speaking peoples including the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, Wea, and Michigamea who inhabited the great river valleys and prairies of the upper Mississippi and Illinois country, connect them to one of the most geographically central and historically consequential indigenous civilizations of the North American interior, the Illinois Confederacy's control of the fertile lands between the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers making them a pivotal presence in the French colonial world of the pays d'en haut whose alliance with New France shaped the balance of power in the continental interior through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Peoria world — whose people's name, meaning those who come to trade or those who carry a pack on their back in the Miami-Illinois language, reflects the commercial and diplomatic orientation of a confederacy whose geographic position at the crossroads of the continental interior made them natural intermediaries in the fur trade networks that connected the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, whose catastrophic population collapse through epidemic disease, the Beaver Wars violence of the Iroquois Confederacy's westward expansion, and the disruptions of the colonial era reduced the Illinois Confederacy from an estimated ten thousand people at first European contact to a few hundred survivors by the early nineteenth century, whose forced removal from their Illinois homelands under the Indian Removal policies of the 1830s brought the remnant confederacy peoples to Kansas and eventually to Indian Territory in Oklahoma where the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma was formally organized and achieved federal recognition, and whose tribal government today maintains in northeastern Oklahoma the governmental, cultural, and community institutions of a nation that survived centuries of epidemic, warfare, dispossession, and removal to emerge in the twenty-first century as a federally recognized sovereign nation whose people carry with pride the identity of the Illinois Confederacy's enduring heirs. This interactive t-shirt connects you to that resilient and sovereign legacy with a QR code linking to the full story.
HERITAG is a purpose-driven brand that celebrates cultural diversity and awareness. Wear and share your social identity and cultural heritage with a unique collection of interactive t-shirts that carry flags of native people in America. Create informative and fun moments by inviting people to scan the visible QR code and learn about the diverse US population.
Making products on demand instead of in bulk also helps reduce overproduction, and this quality t-shirt is made especially for you as soon as you place an order.
Few more details about this t-shirt: • Scannable QR code printed on the back for an interactive and fun experience • Designed to educate about a nation's proud history and rich culture • Custom print-on-demand unisex t-shirt • 100% cotton Gildan t-shirt. Soft, comfy, pre-shrunk jersey knit • Sport Grey is 90% cotton, 10% polyester • Heather colors are 50% cotton, 50% polyester • Classic fit, taped neck and shoulders for soft feel • Double seam at sleeves and bottom hem for more durability • Fabric weight: 5.0-5.3 oz./yd² (170-180 g/m²)
