The Potawatomi, also spelled Pottawatomi or Pottawatomie, are a Native American tribe from the Great Plains, the upper Mississippi River, and the western Great Lakes region. They speak the Potawatomi language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. They are also known as First Nations in Canada. The Potawatomi refer to themselves as Neshnabé, a word similar to Anishinaabe. They are part of a group called the Council of Three Fires, which includes the Ojibwe and Odawa (Ottawa) tribes. In this group, the Potawatomi are called the "youngest brother." Their people are sometimes called Bodéwadmi, which means "keepers of the fire" and refers to the shared fire of the three tribes.

In the 1800s, some Potawatomi groups were forced to move west because of European and American settlers taking over their land. In the 1830s, the U.S. government moved most Potawatomi from the area east of the Mississippi River to Indian Territory, first in Kansas and Nebraska, and later to Oklahoma. Some groups stayed in the Great Lakes region and are now officially recognized as tribes by the government, along with the Potawatomi in Oklahoma.

Name

The English word "Potawatomi" comes from the Ojibwe word Boodewaadamii(g), which is shortened to Boodewaadmii(g) in the Ottawa language. The Potawatomi people call themselves Bodéwadmi (plural: Bodéwadmik), a word similar to the Ojibwe form. This name means "those who tend the hearth-fire," referring to the fire in the home of the Council of Three Fires. The word "to tend the hearth-fire" is bodewadm in Potawatomi, while the Ojibwe and Ottawa versions are boodawaadam and boodwaadam, respectively.

Another name the Potawatomi use for themselves is Neshnabé (plural: Neshnabék), a word similar to the Ojibwe term Anishinaabe(g). This name means "original people."

Teachings

The Potawatomi people teach their children about the "Seven Grandfather Teachings," which include wisdom, respect, love, honesty, humility, bravery, and truth. These teachings show how important and equal all members of their tribe are, and how to respect all living things in nature.

The story behind these teachings shows the importance of patience and listening. It tells of the Water Spider’s journey to get fire so the other animals can survive the cold. When the other animals take turns saying they will retrieve the fire, the Water Spider sits quietly and listens. After they finish and deal with their fears, she steps forward and says she will bring fire back. When the others laugh and doubt her, she spins a bowl from her web and uses it to sail across the water to get the fire. She returns with a hot coal, and the animals use it to make fire. They celebrate her courage and bravery.

History

The Potawatomi people have a long history, and they are mentioned in early French records. These records suggest that in the early 1700s, the Potawatomi lived in what is now southwestern Michigan. During the Beaver Wars, they moved to the area around Green Bay to escape attacks by the Iroquois and the Neutral Confederacy, who wanted more hunting land. Around 1658, the Potawatomi population was estimated to be about 3,000 people.

The Potawatomi were part of Tecumseh’s Confederacy. They fought in Tecumseh’s War and the War of 1812. Their alliances with the United Kingdom and the United States changed as power between the two nations shifted. They considered how these changes affected their trade and land.

During the War of 1812, a group of Potawatomi lived near Fort Dearborn, where Chicago later developed. Led by chiefs Blackbird and Nuscotomeg (Mad Sturgeon), about 500 warriors attacked a group of U.S. soldiers and civilians leaving Fort Dearborn. Many civilians and 54 soldiers were killed, and others were wounded. George Ronan, the first West Point graduate to die in combat, was killed in this attack. This event is called the Battle of Fort Dearborn. A Potawatomi chief named Mucktypoke (Black Partridge) advised against the attack. Later, he helped save some civilians who were being held for ransom.

French explorers first made contact with the Potawatomi in western Michigan and along the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin. By the end of the French period, the Potawatomi began moving to the Detroit area, leaving large communities in Wisconsin.

The British period began after France lost the French and Indian War to Britain. Pontiac’s Rebellion was an effort by Native Americans to drive out British settlers. The Potawatomi captured all British frontier garrisons except the one at Detroit.

The Potawatomi expanded westward from Detroit, especially in the St. Joseph villages near the Miami in southwestern Michigan. Communities in Wisconsin moved south along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

The United States treaty period started with the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War and gave the U.S. interest in the lower Great Lakes. This period lasted until treaties for Indian removal were signed. The U.S. recognized the Potawatomi as a single tribe. They had a decentralized society with several divisions based on geography: Milwaukee or Wisconsin area, Detroit or Huron River, the St. Joseph River, the Kankakee River, Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers, the Illinois River and Lake Peoria, and the Des Plaines and Fox Rivers.

The following chiefs are grouped by geographic area:

• Manamol
• Siggenauk (Siginak: "Le Tourneau" or "Blackbird")

• Billy Caldwell, also known as Sauganash (Zhagnash: "Englishman") (1780–1841)

• Aptakisic (fl. 1830s, Abtagizheg "Half Day")
• Mukatapenaise, a.k.a. Black Partridge (Mkedébnés "Blackbird")
• Waubonsie (Wabenizhi, "He Causes Paleness")
• Waweachsetoh along with La Gesse, Gomo or Masemo (Resting Fish)

• Mucktypoke (Makdébki: "Black Partridge")
• Senachewine (died 1831) (Petacho or Znajjewan "Difficult Current") was the brother of Gomo, who was chief among the Lake Peoria Potawatomi

• Main Poc, also known as Webebeset ("Crafty One")
• Micsawbee (19th century)
• Notawkah (Rattlesnake) on the Yellow River
• Nuscotomeg (Neshkademég, "Mad Sturgeon") on the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers
• Mesasa (Mezsézed, "Turkey Foot")

• Chebass (Zhshibés: "Little Duck") on the St. Joseph River
• Five Medals (Wa-nyano-zhoneya: "Five-coin") on the Elkhart River
• Onaska on the Elkhart River
• Topinbee (He who sits Quietly) (died 1826)

• Aubenaubee (1761–1837/8) on the Tippecanoe River
• Askum (More and More) on the Eel River
• George Cicott (1800?–1833)
• Keesass on the Wabash River
• Kewanna (1790?–1840s?) (Prairie Chicken) Eel River
• Kinkash (see Askum)
• Magaago
• Monoquet (1790s–1830s) on the Tippecanoe River
• Tiosa on the Tippecanoe River
• Winamac (Winmég, "Catfish")—allied with the British during the War of 1812
• Winamac (Winmég, "Catfish")—allied with the Americans during the War of 1812

• Metea (1760?–1827) (Mdewé, "Sulks")
• Wabnaneme on the Pigeon River

The removal period began with treaties in the late 1820s, when the U.S. created reservations. Billy Caldwell and Alexander Robinson negotiated for the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potowatomi in the Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien (1829). This treaty made the Potawatomi cede most of their lands in Wisconsin and Michigan. Some Potawatomi followed the "Kickapoo Prophet," Kennekuk, in religion. Over time, the U.S. reduced the size of reservations due to pressure from European Americans.

The final step was the Treaty of Chicago (1833), negotiated by Caldwell and Robinson. In exchange for land, the U.S. promised new lands, annuities, and supplies to help the Potawatomi build new homes. The Illinois Potawatomi were moved to Nebraska, and the Indiana Potawatomi to Kansas, both west of the Mississippi River. Often, annuities and supplies were delayed or reduced, causing hardship for the Potawatomi. Those in Kansas were later moved to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). The removal of the Indiana Potawatomi was recorded by a Catholic priest, Benjamin Petit, who traveled with the Potawatomi on the Potawatomi Trail of Death in 1838. Petit died in 1839 while returning to Indiana. His diary was published in 1941 by the Indiana Historical Society.

Many Potawatomi stayed in Michigan. Others fled to their Odawa neighbors or to Canada to avoid being moved west.

• Iowa, Wabash River
• Maumksuck (Mangzed, "Big Foot") at Lake Geneva
• Mecosta (Mkozdé, "Having a Bear's Foot")

• Chief Menominee (1791?–1841) Twin Lakes of Marshall County
• Pamtipee of Nottawasippi
• Mackahtamoah (Mkedémwi, "Black Wolf") of Nottawasippi
• Pashpoho of Yellow River near Rochester, Indiana
• Pepinawah
• Leopold Pokagon (c. 1775–1841)
• Simon Pokagon (c. 1830–1899)
• Shupshewahno (19th century–1841) or Shipsh

Bands

There are several groups of Potawatomi people who are officially recognized by the government. These groups are located in different areas of the United States and Canada:

In the United States:
• Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin
• Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan
• Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi (also called the Gun Lake tribe), located in Dorr, Allegan County, Michigan
• Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, located in Calhoun County, Michigan
• Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana
• Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, Kansas (and in Illinois since 2024)
• Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma

In Canada:
• Caldwell First Nation, Point Pelee and Pelee Island, Ontario
• Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Bruce Peninsula, Ontario
• Saugeen First Nation, Ontario (Bruce Peninsula)
• Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point, Ontario
• Moose Deer Point First Nation, Ontario
• Walpole Island First Nation, on an unceded island between the United States and Canada
• Wasauksing First Nation, Parry Island, Ontario
• Beausoleil First Nation, Christian Island, Georgian Bay, Ontario

Ethnobotany

The Potawatomi people see Epigaea repens as their tribal flower and believe it was given to them by their spirit. Allium tricoccum is used in their traditional meals. They make a liquid from the root of Uvularia grandiflora, mix it with lard, and apply it as an ointment to soothe sore muscles and tendons. They use Symphyotrichum novae-angliae as a type of smoke to help refresh the body. Vaccinium myrtilloides is part of their traditional food, eaten fresh, dried, or canned. They also use the root bark of this plant for a health issue that is not clearly described.

Location

The Potawatomi people originally lived in Lower Michigan. Later, they moved to northern Wisconsin and eventually settled in northern Indiana and central Illinois. In the early 1800s, much of the Potawatomi land was taken by the US government. After the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, in which the tribe gave up its land in Illinois, most Potawatomi people were moved to Indian Territory, which was located west of the Mississippi River. Many of them died during their journey to the west through Iowa, Kansas, and Indian Territory. This journey became known as the "Trail of Death."

Language

Potawatomi (also known as Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi, Bodéwadmimwen, Bodéwadmi Zheshmowen, or Neshnabémwen) is a Central Algonquian language spoken near the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin. It is also spoken by Potawatomi people in Kansas, Oklahoma, and southern Ontario. In 2001, fewer than 1,300 people spoke Potawatomi as their first language, most of them older adults. The community is working to help bring back the language, as shown by recent projects like the online Potawatomi Dictionary created by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation or the resources provided by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.

The Potawatomi language is most similar to the Odawa language. It also borrowed many words from the Sauk language. Like the Odawa language or the Ottawa dialect of the Anishinaabe language, the Potawatomi language shows a lot of vowel syncope.

Many places in the Midwest have names that come from the Potawatomi language, including Waukegan, Muskegon, Oconomowoc, Pottawattamie County, Kalamazoo, and Skokie.

Potawatomi people

• Ron Baker: was a player for the New York Knicks and the Washington Wizards.
• Tank Standing Buffalo: is an artist and animator.
• Charles J. Chaput (born 1944, son of a Potawatomi woman): was the Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia from 2011 to 2020.
• Kelly Church (Potawatomi/Odawa/Ojibwe): is a basket maker, painter, and educator.
• Charles Curtis: was the 31st Vice President of the United States, Senate Majority Leader, Majority Whip, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, and a U.S. representative from Kansas. Curtis’s mother, Ellen Pappan Curtis, had one-quarter Kaw, Osage, Potawatomi, and French ancestry; Curtis was enrolled as Kaw.
• Robin Wall Kimmerer: is a botanist and writer, and the author of Braiding Sweetgrass.
• Simon Pokagon: was known as the "Hereditary and Last Chief" of the Pokagon Band.
• Leopold Pokagon: was the leader of the Potawatomi in the Saint Joseph River Valley.
• Jeri Redcorn: is an artist from Oklahoma who helped bring back traditional Caddo pottery.
• Angela R. Riley: has been the chief justice of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation since 2010.
• Topinabee: was the leader of the Potawatomi in the Saint Joseph River Valley.

Cited sources

• Smith, Huron H. (1933). "A study of plants used by the Forest Potawatomi Indians." Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee. 7: 1–230.