Graffiti News

Kitihawa leads the story on a school wall

A mural unveiled September 9, 2026, in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood puts Kitihawa in front of her husband, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, to recognize her contribution to their partnership. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, artists Noelle Garcia and Monica Rickert-Bolter painted the work on the front and side exterior walls of the North Park Elementary School annex at 2017 W. Montrose Ave. The placement of the figures makes the artists’ emphasis visible before a viewer reads any historical explanation.

Kitihawa belonged to the Potawatomi people of the Chicago region. Rickert-Bolter told the newspaper that Kitihawa was involved in the trading posts as DuSable’s business partner and helped him establish relationships within her community. Garcia likewise stressed that his success depended on their collaboration. Their account gives the portrait a specific purpose: to bring that working relationship into view through a woman whose contributions have received less attention.

The newspaper describes DuSable as a French-Haitian explorer often recognized as Chicago’s first non-Indigenous founder. Lake Shore Drive was renamed in his honor in 2021. Much less is widely known about Kitihawa, the report notes. The mural addresses that imbalance through its composition, giving her the leading position while keeping the two historical figures together.

The composition continues around the annex corner

Kitihawa appears on the east-facing alley wall, writing in a book while looking north into the distance. DuSable stands behind her, posed as though preparing to move southeast. Lake Michigan forms the background, with dragonflies, turtles, tall grasses and other native plants and animals around the pair. The setting asks viewers to consider the figures within a landscape as well as within a familiar founding narrative.

The front of the annex extends that landscape through a different group of details. A beaver swims below a window, and a river otter occupies the lower right corner. Braided grasses connect the two walls, while blue, pink and brown irises frame an upper corner of the annex doorway. These smaller elements give visitors reasons to look beyond the central portraits and follow the painting across the building.

For people who follow murals, the corner is part of the work’s visual structure. Looking at the front and side together reveals how the artists carry the scene between architectural surfaces. The plants and animals also keep the historical subjects connected to the region represented in the painting.

Students helped shape both the imagery and its use

Student drawings of native plants and animals supplied some of the mural’s imagery. Garcia and Rickert-Bolter also helped develop a curriculum through which North Park students will learn about Indigenous people who lived in and around the area now known as Chicago. The project therefore connects the painted exterior to lessons taking place within the school.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, questions from students and teachers about how the two figures were drawn became opportunities to discuss traditional Native American imagery. The artists used an anime style for Kitihawa and DuSable, explaining that the approach might help younger viewers relate to them. That is the artists’ stated intention; the report does not present a measured educational outcome.

Garcia, who lives in Highland Park, is a member of the Klamath Tribes in Oregon. Rickert-Bolter lives in West Ridge and is Potawatomi. Their perspectives as Native American women informed their interest in Kitihawa. Alongside the students’ contributions, that authorship helps explain why the work centers her role and why conversations about representation became part of the project.

The exterior walls provide the route for viewing

The address for finding the mural is the North Park Elementary School annex at 2017 W. Montrose Ave. in Ravenswood. Use the front wall and the east-facing alley wall as the two reference points: the animal details occupy the front, while the historical figures appear on the side. As this is a school setting, viewing should leave entrances and student movement clear.

The mural was painted by hand using a formulation intended for brick. Garcia explained to the newspaper that the paint adheres to the surface while allowing it to breathe, helping prevent the finish from peeling away. That material choice is another detail to consider when looking at how the image sits on the building. The artists also said they were working on a graphic novel about Kitihawa and DuSable, extending their interest in the pair into another visual form.

Explore nearby murals on Wallscape’s map.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times