Place of Smelly Waters

It was mid-August, and I arrived in Chicago as temperatures were skyrocketing. The shores of Lake Michigan were crowded with people soaking in the sun, watching the air show and taking a stroll along the waterfront path.

I had come to Chicago to see Where Are You Go – a documentary about our company’s epic cycling event in Africa. The film has been traveling throughout the world as part of the Bicycle Film Fest, and so far has been received well by large crowds wherever it goes.

But coming for the film was also a chance to explore a city I had only been to once before. My partner and I rented bikes and made use of Chicago’s extensive lakefront paths to see more of the city. The network of cycling and pedestrian paths reminded me a lot of what we have in Toronto; just better.

We had a map and plotted out a route down the lake, and then circling back through the city to the near north side where our hotel was. Our route took us past Prez Obama’s house and into Washington Park to the DuSable Museum of African American History; which is where I got the inspiration for the title of this post.

The museum had come recommended by several sources and seemed like a good southernmost destination for our day out in the city.

It is named for Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, a Haitian American Pioneer of French and African descent. In the early 1770s he became the first known settler to the region. He built a house and opened a trading post in what was known then as Eschikagou by the native people.

In the native language, Eschikagou means place of smelly waters. Jean-Baptiste no doubt would have noticed the strong smell of wild garlic growing along its banks of Lake Michigan, and could appreciate why it was given such a name.

Interestingly, I read this fact on a plaque in the foyer of the museum, but if you search Eschikagau online, you would be hard pressed to find information anywhere that connects it to the smelly meaning.

Besides learning about the origins of the city, the museum is an excellent place for anyone to get a glimpse into the fascinating history of African Americans, like DuSable, who played such a large part in shaping the city that you find today.