131 On the other hand, there are instances of government oversight that intended to harm the Fox River. The most famous is the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which allowed the federal government to forcibly move Native Americans into western lands.14 In 1835, natives including the Potawatomi, Chippewa, and Ottawa tribal bands living at the Fox River Valley were forced to move west of the Mississippi River, allowing the white settlers to take advantage of the Fox River’s natural resources.15 Soon after the removal of Natives, the first dam on the Fox River, in St. Charles, was built in 1836.16 Clearly, the state and federal government intended to remove native populations so that they could capitalize on building more dams, emphasizing the importance of people over nature. Similarly, bills like Senate Bill 1481 aimed to build more dams in the Fox River, damaging its wildlife. SB 1481 was proposed and passed in 1978 by Senator Robert Mitchler, which would repair and reconstruct the North Aurora Dam.17 According to Senator Mitchler during a June 1978 debate, the dam “ruptured about 1/4th on the east bank causing excessive flow downstream.”18 This helped the ecology near the Fox River because the trees on the shoreline and park district area near it would not continue to be destroyed. Of course, it must be considered that the absence of a functioning North Aurora Dam wiped away “fifteen to twenty feet” of the Fox Valley Park District, which was equally as detrimental for the plants and animals there.19 Though Senator Mitchler argued that if the 14 “Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction,” Research Guides (Library of Congress, 2019), https://guides.loc.gov/indian-removal act#:~:text=The%20Indian%20Removal%20Act%20was,many%20resisted%20the%20relocation%20policy. 15 “Fox River,” History on the Fox (History on the Fox, 2022), https://historyonthefox.wordpress.com/category/fox river/. 16 Ashley Rhodebeck, “A Look into the Early History of the Fox River,” Shaw Local (Shaw Local, November 22, 2012), https://www.shawlocal.com/2012/07/19/a-look-into-the-early-history-of-the-fox-river/af5p9nj/. 17 Robert Mitchler, “Illinois General Assembly,” Illinois General Assembly § (1978), https://www.ilga.gov/Senate/transcripts/Strans86/ST062990.pdf. 17 Robert Mitchler, “Illinois General Assembly,” Illinois General Assembly § (1978), https://www.ilga.gov/Senate/transcripts/Strans86/ST062990.pdf. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid.
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