Nature & Cultural Outings Series

Northwest Indiana is home to one of the country’s most biodiverse areas, the Indiana Dunes National Park, and green space teeming with rich histories and beauty.

For generations, these lands have been home to Indigenous nations, including the Potawatomi, Peoria, Miami, Fox, Sauk, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe, Odawa, Wea, Piankeshaw, Kickapoo, Illinois, Očhéthi Šakówin, Kaskaskia, and Dakota peoples. Western colonization and forced industrialization have often erased Indigenous cultures, disconnecting us from the land and its history.

Heavy industry, like refineries, pipelines, coal plants, and steel mills, turned Northwest Indiana into an industrial hub, attracting waves of immigrants who built vibrant communities alongside Indigenous peoples. But this growth came with a cost: pollution, unsustainable development, and health disparities that affect low-income communities and communities of color.

Through our Nature and Cultural Outings Series, JTNWI is working to reconnect people with our local environment and heritage. By hosting these outings, we seek to honor our ancestors, the land, and Mother Earth.