For the Illinois and Michigan Canal’s 175th anniversary, Ana Koval would like to know how Native Americans lived around the time the canal got started. Undoubtedly, building the canal changed things for the Potawatomi. They used to live in this area.
It’s one idea for stories that could be told during the canal’s anniversary celebration. Another is learning more about women. Koval says Civil War stories are usually about all the men who went to fight the war. She asks what about the women who either dealt with everything at home or left to support the troops.
Koval is president of the Canal Corridor Association. It’s planning to start present stories for the canal’s 175th anniversary in April.
Ana Koval tells more in this interview clip: