The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians (Potawatomi: Pokégnek Bodéwadmik) is a federally recognized tribe that speaks the Potawatomi language. It is based in southwestern Michigan and northeastern Indiana. The tribal government is located in Dowagiac, Michigan. The tribe has reservation lands in ten counties across the region.
The Pokagon people are descendants of Potawatomi villages that once existed along the St. Joseph, Paw Paw, and Kalamazoo rivers in what are now southwest Michigan and northern Indiana. They are the only Potawatomi group allowed by the United States government to stay in Michigan after the Indian removal of the 1830s. The tribe has been officially recognized by the federal government since 1994, when a law confirmed its status. The tribe has established its own government.
History
Some people think the Potawatomi people first lived along the Atlantic coastline at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Experts believe they moved south from Ontario about 1,000 years ago. Other tribal leaders, including Michael Williams, say the Potawatomi originally lived at the mouth of the Grand River near Lake Michigan or along the St. Joseph River near Mishawaka, Indiana. Some believe that, along with the Ojibwe and Odawa Anishinaabe peoples, the Potawatomi moved west to the Great Lakes region around 500 to 800 years ago during a "Great Migration."
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians signed 11 treaties with the federal government. The most important agreement involved giving up a large amount of land in the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. During forced relocations, many Potawatomi groups were moved west, but Chief Leopold Pokagon worked to keep his Potawatomi group of 280 people in southwestern Michigan. They were the only Potawatomi group that stayed east of the Mississippi River.
The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 allowed the Pokagon Band to try to restore self-government and asked the Department of the Interior to recognize them as a tribe. Their request was denied because of conditions in their treaties and the law. After many years of asking, the Pokagon Band received recognition in 1994 through a law that confirmed their status.
Many cities and streets in Michigan use Potawatomi names.
Contemporary
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, a federally recognized tribe, built and opened the Four Winds New Buffalo casino on the Pokagon Reservation in 2007. The casino is located in New Buffalo Township, near New Buffalo, Michigan. It follows the rules of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and an agreement with the state of Michigan. The casino expanded in 2011 because of its success. According to the Chicago Tribune, if the casino were located on the Las Vegas Strip, it would be the second largest there. The casino’s rotunda is designed in the style of traditional Potawatomi lodges. A second casino, Four Winds Hartford, opened in 2011 in Hartford, Michigan. A third, Four Winds Dowagiac, opened in 2013 in Dowagiac, Michigan. The tribe’s agreement with Michigan limits them to three casinos. In 2018, the tribe opened Four Winds South Bend in South Bend, Indiana, which they claim meets the requirements of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for gaming.
In February 2021, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians launched an online gaming platform, becoming the 11th group in Michigan to offer both online sports betting and casino games.
The tribe has used money from gaming to build needed housing and plans to create a community center. In a competition for federal funds, the Pokagon Band received $2 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to build a community center at their tribal center in Dowagiac. The 8,500-square-foot building is designed to meet Silver LEED standards and includes features to reduce energy use, such as a green roof, thick concrete flooring to store heat, south-facing windows to capture winter sunlight, and geothermal systems.
In 2018, the Field Museum in Chicago, which is located on land once owned by the Pokagon Band, included a tribal member on its advisory committee. The committee works to update the Native North American Hall to include perspectives from Native peoples and Indigenous nations.
Fewer Potawatomi elders speak the Potawatomi language, but the Pokagon Band is part of a program to teach and use the language again.
Tribal government
Members of the tribal council, including the chairman, are chosen by the tribe's members. These individuals also hold positions on the Pokagon Gaming Authority.
The Tribal Judiciary is a separate and independent part of the Pokagon Band government. This group includes the Chief Judge, one Associate Judge, and three Appellate Court Justices. All members of the Judiciary are selected by the Tribal Council to serve terms of four (4) years that do not all end at the same time.
The Pokagon Tribal Police Department was created in 2003 to provide law enforcement services to tribal members and visitors in ten counties in Michigan and Indiana. This police department offers all types of law enforcement services within the Tribe's area. The Tribal Police enforce federal, state, and local laws, including the Pokagon Band Code of Offenses.
The Pokagon Band Gaming Commission was formed in 2007 as an independent branch. This group oversees all gaming activities within the Pokagon Band's area according to the Gaming Regulatory Act, the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and the tribal-state Gaming Compact between the Band and the states of Michigan and Indiana.