Potawatomi


The Potawatomi, also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie, are an Indigenous North American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. They are additionally First Nations in Canada. The Potawatomi call themselves Neshnabé, a cognate of the word Anishinaabe. The Potawatomi are part of a long-term alliance, called the Council of Three Fires, with the Ojibwe and Odawa. In the Council of Three Fires, the Potawatomi are considered the "youngest brother". Their people are referred to in this context as Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and refers to the council fire of three peoples.
In the 19th century, some bands of Potawatomi were pushed to the west by European/American encroachment. In the 1830s the federal government removed most from their lands east of the Mississippi River to Indian Territory—first in Kansas, Nebraska, and last to Oklahoma. Some bands survived in the Great Lakes region and today are federally recognized as tribes, in addition to the Potawatomi in Oklahoma.

Name

The English "Potawatomi" is derived from the Ojibwe Boodewaadamii. The Potawatomi name for themselves is Bodéwadmi, a cognate of the Ojibwe form. Their name means "those who tend the hearth-fire", which refers to the hearth of the Council of Three Fires. The word comes from "to tend the hearth-fire", which is bodewadm in the Potawatomi language; the Ojibwe and Ottawa forms are boodawaadam and boodwaadam, respectively.
Alternatively, the Potawatomi call themselves Neshnabé, a cognate of Ojibwe Anishinaabe, meaning "original people".

Teachings

The Potawatomi teach their children about the "Seven Grandfather Teachings" of wisdom, respect, love, honesty, humility, bravery, and truth toward each other and all creation. Each principle teaches the equality and importance of their fellow tribesmen and respect for all of nature's creations.
The story that underlies these teaches the importance of patience and listening. It follows the Water Spider's journey to retrieve fire so that the other animals can survive the cold. As the other animals step forth one after another to proclaim that they shall be the ones to retrieve the fire, the Water Spider sits and waits while listening to her fellows. As they finish and wrestle with their fears, she steps forward and announces that she will be the one to bring fire back. As they laugh and doubt her, she weaves a bowl out of her web, using it to sail across the water to retrieve the fire. She brings back a hot coal out of which the animals make fire, and they celebrate her honor and bravery.

History

In addition to a rich history of their own people, the Potawatomi are mentioned in early French records, which suggest that in the early 17th century, they lived in what is now southwestern Michigan. During the Beaver Wars they fled to the area around Green Bay to escape attacks by both the Iroquois and the Neutral Confederacy, who were seeking expanded hunting grounds. It is estimated that the Potawatomi numbered around 3,000 in 1658.
As an important part of Tecumseh's Confederacy, Potawatomi warriors took part in Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812. Their alliances switched repeatedly between United Kingdom and the United States as power relations shifted between the nations, and they calculated effects on their trade and land interests.
At the time of the War of 1812, a band of Potawatomi inhabited the area near Fort Dearborn, where Chicago developed. Led by the chiefs Blackbird and Nuscotomeg, a force of about 500 warriors attacked the United States evacuation column leaving Fort Dearborn. They killed most of the civilians and 54 of Captain Nathan Heald's force, and wounded many others. George Ronan, the first graduate of West Point to be killed in combat, died in this ambush. The incident is referred to as the Battle of Fort Dearborn. A Potawatomi chief named Mucktypoke, counseled his fellow warriors against the attack. Later he saved some of the civilian captives who were being ransomed by the Potawatomi.

French period (1615–1763)

The French period of contact began with early explorers who reached the Potawatomi in western Michigan. They also found the tribe located along the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin. By the end of the French period, the Potawatomi had begun a move to the Detroit area, leaving the large communities in Wisconsin.
  • Madouche during the Fox Wars
  • Millouisillyny
  • Onanghisse at Green Bay
  • Otchik at Detroit

    British period (1763–1783)

The British period of contact began when France ceded its lands after its defeat by Britain in the French and Indian War. Pontiac's Rebellion was an attempt by Native Americans to push the British and other European settlers out of their territory. The Potawatomi captured every British frontier garrison but the one at Detroit.
The Potawatomi nation continued to grow and expanded westward from Detroit, most notably in the development of the St. Joseph villages adjacent to the Miami in southwestern Michigan. The Wisconsin communities continued and moved south along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
  • Nanaquiba at Detroit
  • Ninivois at Detroit
  • Peshibon at St. Joseph
  • Washee at St. Joseph during Pontiac's Rebellion

    United States treaty period (1783–1830)

The United States treaty period of Potawatomi history began with the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War and established the United States' interest in the lower Great Lakes. It lasted until the treaties for Indian removal were signed. The US recognized the Potawatomi as a single tribe. They often had a few tribal leaders whom all villages accepted. The Potawatomi had a decentralized society, with several main divisions based on geographic locations: 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 chiefs listed below are grouped by geographic area.

Milwaukee Potawatomi

  • Manamol
  • Siggenauk

    Chicago Potawatomi

  • Billy Caldwell, also known as Sauganash

    Des Plaines and Fox River Potawatomi

  • Aptakisic
  • Mukatapenaise, a.k.a. Black Partridge
  • Waubonsie
  • Waweachsetoh along with La Gesse, Gomo or Masemo

    Illinois River Potawatomi

  • Mucktypoke
  • Senachewine was the brother of Gomo who was chief among the Lake Peoria Potawatomi

    Kankakee River (Iroquois and Yellow Rivers) Potawatomi

  • Main Poc, also known as Webebeset
  • Micsawbee 19th century
  • Notawkah on the Yellow River
  • Nuscotomeg on the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers
  • Mesasa

    St. Joseph and Elkhart Potawatomi

  • Chebass on the St. Joseph River
  • Five Medals on the Elkhart River
  • Onaska on the Elkhart River
  • Topinbee

    Tippecanoe and Wabash River Potawatomi

  • Aubenaubee on the Tippecanoe River
  • Askum on the Eel River
  • George Cicott
  • Keesass on the Wabash River
  • Kewanna Eel River
  • Kinkash
  • Magaago
  • Monoquet on the Tippecanoe River
  • Tiosa on the Tippecanoe River
  • Winamac —allied with the British during the War of 1812
  • Winamac —allied with the Americans during the War of 1812

    Fort Wayne Potawatomi

  • Metea
  • Wabnaneme on the Pigeon River

    American removal period (1830–1840)

The removal period of Potawatomi history began with the treaties of the late 1820s, when the United States 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, by which they ceded most of their lands in Wisconsin and Michigan. Some Potawatomi became religious followers of the "Kickapoo Prophet", Kennekuk. Over the years, the US reduced the size of the reservations under pressure for land by incoming European Americans.
The final step followed the Treaty of Chicago, negotiated in 1833 for the tribes by Caldwell and Robinson. In return for land cessions, the US promised new lands, annuities and supplies to enable the peoples to develop new homes. The Illinois Potawatomi were removed to Nebraska and the Indiana Potawatomi to Kansas, both west of the Mississippi River. Often annuities and supplies were reduced, or late in arrival, and the Potawatomi suffered after their relocations. Those in Kansas were later removed to Indian Territory. The removal of the Indiana Potawatomi was documented by a Catholic priest, Benjamin Petit, who accompanied the Indians on the Potawatomi Trail of Death in 1838. Petit died while returning to Indiana in 1839. His diary was published in 1941, over 100 years after his death, by the Indiana Historical Society.
Many Potawatomi found ways to remain, primarily those in Michigan. Others fled to their Odawa neighbors or to Canada to avoid removal to the west.
Image:Leopold Pokagon.jpg|thumb|upright|Leopold Pokagon
There are several active bands of Potawatomi.

United States

Potawatomi tribes in the United States: