Five Partners for Seven Generations
By working together, the Indiana Dunes Indigenous Cultural trail aims to tell the story of the Indiana Dunes area for future generations.
More than just a hiking trail, this interactive experience will create a place for visitors and locals to learn, play, touch, visit, ponder, and become inspired. The new trail will weave the culture of the Miami and Potawatomi Indigenous Peoples with the natural ecology of the Indiana Dunes—one of the most biodiverse areas of the country.
Acknowledgment
Indiana Dunes Tourism and the National Park Service acknowledge with great respect that the Indiana Dunes are within the traditional lands of the Bodéwadmik/Potawatomi and Myaamia/Miami Peoples past and present. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the Indigenous Peoples who inhabited it throughout the generations. We are working in partnership to bring Indigenous voices to the forefront and to continue the tradition of caring for this land. As you walk along these trails, remember the ancestors—those who made this place their home and still have ties here.
Working Together
The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, Indiana Dunes Tourism, and the Indiana Dunes National Park have joined together to reenvision the land around the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center. The new trail will provide rich experiences and offer new perspectives of the Indigenous Peoples who have lived in this region for centuries. Indiana Dunes Indigenous Cultural Trail programming and interpretive messaging will include themes such as water, seasons, sustainability, and plants.
Indiana Dunes Indigenous Tree Trail
A unique, arboretum-style tree tour with Indigenous translations has been created using the MapHub app. Visitors can discover the unique trees surrounding the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center while hiking along the Indigenous Cultural Trail.
Nature Art Walk
Stroll the grounds of the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center and see five murals, each one created in a matter of hours by the street artist Ryan “ARCY” Christenson, as well as our life-sized Bison-tennial bison and a bench, both painted by ARCY. The seven art pieces depict wildlife and plants native to the Indiana Dunes area.
A Vision for the Future
The proposed features for the first phase of the project include:
- A low environmental impact boardwalk overlooking a naturalized section of Dunes Creek.
- A large, raised copper fire pit with a snuffer that will double as a table for educational programming.
- A land acknowledgment honoring Indigenous cultures.
- Interpretive signage, including a tree trail in three languages (Potawatomi, Miami, and English), exploring the significance of the natural resources within the Indigenous cultures.
- Crosswalks designed using Indigenous designs that will connect the trail, the interpretive elements, and the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center.
Be a Part of the Vision
The engineering plans are complete and we are ready to build. We have secured a $200,000 match grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources – Lake Michigan Coastal Program and we are now raising the $200,000 in non-federal matching funds required for the grant.
Current Supporters
Detailed plans for the Indiana Dunes Indigenous Cultural Trail were created with investments from:
- Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Lake Michigan Coastal Program
- Northern Indiana Public Service Company
- Porter County Community Foundation
- The Outdoor Foundation
- Cleveland Cliffs
- Abonmarche
- Indiana Dunes National Park
- Indiana Dunes Tourism