Two years in the making, a proposed design for an updated village seal was presented to the Skokie Village Board on Monday, and village trustees praised it.
According to Skokie Historical Society President Richard J. Witry, the new seal was inspired by a historic 1978 campaign to boost civic pride in Skokie. Northwestern University’s Director of Native American and Indigenous Affairs Jasmine Gurneau said the seal also pays homage to indigenous plants and tribes from Skokie. Both Gurneau and Witry are members of the Village Seal Committee.
The village’s current seal depicts a Native American chief’s side profile and contains the words “Village of Skokie” and “Cook County Illinois” around it, as well as the year Skokie became incorporated, 1888, and the motto “Village of Vision.” Per village documents, it was implemented sometime in the 1940s.
In September 2022, the village’s Human Resources Commission reviewed the current seal and found, among other things, that the representation of the chief does not accurately portray the indigenous people who formerly lived in Skokie.
To remedy that, the Human Resources Commission created an eight-person subcommittee, the Village Seal Committee, in June 2023 and tasked it with creating a new seal for the village that would honor Indigenous communities, Skokie’s history, Skokie’s multicultural community and Skokie’s future. The village also created a video to show why it is changing its seal and how it came up with the new one.
Some in the Native American community have found the chief’s depiction problematic. They have held that the depiction of Native American logos is not a source of pride, but reinforces harmful stereotypes and prejudice and discrimination, Gurneau said.
Witry expressed that he was at first skeptical that the seal needed an update.
“I was of the opinion of that the image behind you, right there, (Witry motioned to the current seal ) was a dignified representation of a Native American. It certainly was not a caricature of the manner of Chief Wahoo.”
Witry said he learned through listening sessions led by Native Americans that celebrating one person, as the seal does, is not in sync with the way Indigenous cultures that are native to Skokie showed honor. Furthermore, the placement of the feathers on the headdress would be more appropriate to depict a chief of the Great Prairies and not Skokie.
The new village seal depicts a flame, broadleaf cattail plants, which are indigenous to the Skokie area, the year the village was incorporated, and the word “Wabskoke,” a Potawatomi word for marsh and the factor that influenced the village to take on the name Skokie.
The image of the flame in the seal was inspired by a village-wide program from 1977 called the Skokie Spirit, according to Witry. In 1977, the National Socialist Party of America, a Nazi organization, had intended to march in Skokie, which then had a significantly higher Jewish population, many of which were survivors of the Holocaust.
The village tried to ban the hate group from marching, and through a series of court decisions, lost. The Nazis, however, ultimately marched in Marquette Park and the Loop, and were heavily outnumbered by counter protestors when they did.
“Skokie spirit is symbolic of the successful efforts by Jewish, Gentile and other faiths in turning away the Nazi scourge,” Witry said. “That flame grew from this (protest against the Nazi march) experience.”
After that, a new initiative grew in Skokie to build civic pride. One of its capital moments was the commission of a stained glass window on the exterior of Village Hall created by then- village staffer Joe Folise. The window, facing Oakton Street, says “Skokie Spirit” and depicts a flame.
Witry, sporting a Skokie Spirit badge, presented the badge to the village board and showed historical photos of the badges that helped brew local civic pride. Witry also showed photos with a resurgence of the two-word motto that returned during the hardest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Skokie Spirit is important to us and we want to embrace it, and we want to show it in the seal,” Witry said. “This is not an old concept. It’s not a 46-year-old concept that shows up every once in a while. It permeates the village from 1978 when it first showed up to today.”
The seal’s flame is also also meant to honor the Potawatomi people, as they are known as “The keeper of the flame” and are native to the area, Gurneau said.
The Potawatomi people are part of the Council of the Three Fires, which include the Ojibwe, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi, Gurneau said.
The seal’s designer, Mary Fedorowski, said that she was inspired by Skokie’s history and was open to hearing from community members on what the seal needed.
“We went through over 20 unique concepts that the (village seal) committee considered over a number of months. These iterations were based on community surveys, committee feedback and direction,” she said.
Trustees responded positively to the design and the presentation of the seal. “What a wonderful homage to these lands,” said Trustee Keith Robinson. “Very thoughtful, love the concept and the history. Everything just tied in so well together. It just makes sense to me.”
“This is a proud moment for all of us,” said Trustee Edie Sue Sutker. “The artwork is just beautiful, and I think it symbolizes everything all together.”
Mayor George Van Dusen agreed with the trustees on the dais and thanked Folise for being the inspiration for the village seal with his previous artwork, and sculptures he has created along the North Shore Sculpture Park. “I think the proposed is in keeping with that spirit that we’ve always had.”
The village published an online survey for Skokie residents to give their input on the seal, and it will remain active until Nov. 4, according to the village’s Communications and Community Engagement Director Patrick Deignan. The seal will need to be approved via a village ordinance by the village board at a later date, Corporation Counsel Michael Lorge said. The village’s flag, which has a green background and has the current seal in the center of it, will also be updated at a later time, Village Manager John Lockerby said.
