What's in a name?
Potawatomi means "Keepers of the fire", "Keepers of the sacred fire", "People of the place of the fire", "People of the fireplace", and "Fire Nation" and is believed to derive from the old Chippewa/Ojibwe word potawatomink that was given to the Potawatomi tribe for their role as the keeper of the council fire in an earlier alliance with the Chippewa/Ojibwe and Ottawa/Odawa tribes (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.; Pokagon Band, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998).
There are many spelling variations of Potawatomi found in the historical record, including Pottawatomie, Pottawatomi, Pattawatima, Putawatimes, Pouteouatims, and Poutouatami (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998).
The Potawatomi refer to themselves as Nishnabek or Neshnabek, which means "the original or true people" (Milwaukee Public Museum, n.d.; Pokagon Band, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998).
There are many spelling variations of Potawatomi found in the historical record, including Pottawatomie, Pottawatomi, Pattawatima, Putawatimes, Pouteouatims, and Poutouatami (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998).
The Potawatomi refer to themselves as Nishnabek or Neshnabek, which means "the original or true people" (Milwaukee Public Museum, n.d.; Pokagon Band, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998).
Before the Europeans arrived
The Potawatomi were originally from the Great Lakes Region, which encompasses Ontario, Canada, and eight U.S. states (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) that border the Great Lakes (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.).
According to Potawatomi oral history, the Potawatomi, Chippewa, and Ottawa tribes were once a single tribe that traveled down the Atlantic coast of North America to Georgian Bay on Lake Huron in Canada around 1400 CE (n.d.; Pokagon Band, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998). Around this time, the Potawatomi and Chippewa split from the Ottawa and continued north along the Great Lakes Region until they reached present-day Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (1998). In around 1500 CE, the Potawatomi crossed over from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and during the 1500s-1760s settled throughout Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, northern Indiana, and northern Illinois (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.; Pokagon Band, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998). |
map of the Great Lakes Region (ResearchGate, n.d.)
map of the Potawatomi Homeland in 1700 (Lamirand-Young, 1995)
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Traditional culture
The Potawatomi were traditionally hunter/gatherers, eating wild game, fish, wild rice, berries, nuts, roots, and wild greens (Milwaukee Public Museum, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998). As they migrated and settled in the lower part of the Great Lakes Region, they took up agriculture, growing corn, beans, squash, and medicinal herbs (n.d.; 1998), as well as continued hunting in seasonal patterns (n.d.).
Summer villages were large, near water sources, and included housing that was either rectangular or dome-shaped wigwams, covered with bark sheets or woven brush mats (n.d.; 1998). Winter villages were smaller, dispersed hunting camps and included dome-shaped wigwam housing (n.d.; 1998). The Potawatomi were organized into clans based on patrilineal descent (based on descent through the father's line) (n.d.; 1998). Marriage within a clan was not permitted, so marriages were between members of different clans, creating and reinforcing strong bonds between villages (n.d.). Potawatomi males wore their hair long, except in times of war when they shaved their heads and left a scalplock remaining (Stutzman, 1998). War paint was red and black (1998). Potawatomi women wore their hair parted down the middle with a single long braid behind (1998). There was not one centralized Potawatomi government; instead, each village was led by a senior male from the major clan, based on his seniority, his influence, and the respect he commanded (1998; Milwaukee Public Museum, n.d.). However, major decisions and agreements were made by the group (n.d.). Bands rarely fought with each other and could cooperate together when necessary (Stutzman, 1998). |
replica wigwam exhibit at Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center
(Citizen Potawatomi Nation, n.d.) example of Potawatomi female clothing as seen in this undated sketch by George Winter of Potawatomi Chieftess Massaw (Tribal headman and prominent business owner in village near Lake Keewawnay, Indiana) (Citizen Potawatomi Nation, n.d.)
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Meeting the Europeans in the 1600s
There are conflicting narratives about when the Potawatomi first had contact with Europeans. One narrative is that the Potawatomi met French trader Jean Nicolet/Nicolett in 1634 at present-day Red Banks, Wisconsin on the Door Peninsula on the western shore of Lake Michigan (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.). However, another narrative is that Nicolet simply made a list of tribes living on Lake Michigan (even those he never met), so perhaps he never met the Potawatomi (Stutzman, 1998), and instead the Potawatomi met Jesuit priests at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 1641 (1998).
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Potawatomi meeting Europeans (Citizen Potawatomi Nation, n.d.)
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Interacting with the Europeans in the 1700s
Over time, the Potawatomi and the French had more interaction together and became trade partners. During wars the French had with the English and with the Iroquois tribe, the Potawatomi allied themselves with the French (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998).
In addition to trade and military alliances, during the 1700s it became common for the French and Potawatomi to intermarry (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.). Although it was common for intermarriage between the Europeans and Native Americans, the Potawatomi were among the first Native Americans to do so (n.d.). However, as the 1700s drew to a close, France was no longer a major military force and had ceded its North American land holdings to Britain (n.d.). Thus, the Potawatomi eventually allied themselves with the British, even during the War of 1812 (n.d.). |
Strangers on Our Shore: Friend or Foe? video from Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center
(16 mins 25 secs) (Citizen Potawatomi Nation, n.d.) |
Potawatomi bands in the 1700s and 1800s
In the 1700s, there were three bands (groups or sub-nations) of Potawatomi:
In the 1800s, due to tribal movement and reorganization, the three bands of Potawatomi reorganized as:
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Treaties: Words & Leaders That Shaped Our Nation video from Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center (10 mins 8 secs) (Citizen Potawatomi Nation, n.d.)
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Forced relocations in the 1800s
As white settlers continued westward expansion during the late 1700s and throughout the 1800s, Native American tribes found themselves continually displaced and pushed off their ancestral lands (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.). After the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, many of the Potawatomi bands (sub-nations) were forcibly removed/relocated to land west of the Mississippi River, in present-day Kansas and Oklahoma (n.d.; Pokagon Band, n.d.), in various waves. Perhaps the most deadly of these forced removals was the Trail of Death.
The Trail of Death of 1838
The Trail of Death occurred during September through November 1838 (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.), during which the Potawatomi living in a village in Twin Lakes, Indiana were forced to march nearly 700 miles to Kansas (n.d.; Miami County Historical Museum, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998). Somewhere between 500 and 850 Potawatomi were forcibly removed (n.d.; Pokagon Band, n.d.; Stutzman, 1998). Many died along the way, with some accounts saying 40 people died (Miami County Historical Museum, n.d.; New World Encyclopedia, n.d.) and other accounts saying 1 in 10 people died (Pokagon Band, n.d.). Around half of those who died were children (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.).
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map of The Trail of Death (Miami County Historical Museum, n.d.)
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Once out west
From the time they arrived in Kansas until 1861, the Mission Band, Potawatomi of the Woods Band, and Prairie Band resided together on one reservation (Stutzman, 1998). However, cultural and belief differences led to the reservation being divided by a treaty, with the Prairie Band remaining and the Mission Band and Potawatomi of the Woods Band (now collectively called the Citizen Potawatomi Band) selling their portion and moving to Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1870 (1998; New World Encyclopedia, n.d.).
Potawatomi bands in the modern day
Today, there are numerous Potawatomi Bands (some federally recognized, some not), with a current total population of ~28,000:
- Citizen Potawatomi Nation - the largest band, federally recognized, mostly descendants from the Potawatomi of the Woods Band and the Mission Band, headquartered in Shawnee, Oklahoma
- Forest County Potawatomi Community - noted as possibly the most traditional band (having retained their original language, religion, and culture), federally recognized, mostly descendants from three Potawatomi bands in southern Wisconsin, headquartered in Crandon, Wisconsin
- Hannahville (Hannaville) Indian Community - originally from Illinois, federally recognized since 1936, based on a tract of land in upper Michigan purchased for them by a Chippewa missionary in 1883 and named for his wife Hannah
- Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation - based in southern Ontario on Lake Huron near the Michigan border. Some Potawatomi settled with this group of Chippewa in the 1830s assimilated into this group through marriage, so this group is generally considered Chippewa.
- Moose Deer Point First Nation - descendants of the Moose Deer Point Band and the Beausoleil Band, based in Moose Point, Ontario, Canada, recognized by the Canadian government in 1917
- Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi - originally part of the Detroit Potawatomi, federally recognized prior to 1902 and again since 1995, based in Calhoun County, Michigan
- Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians - protected from removal in the 1800s by treaty, federally recognized since 1994, headquartered in Dowagiac, Michigan on land purchased by tribal leader Leopold Pokagon, serves tribal members throughout southern Michigan and northern Indiana
- Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation - federally recognized, located on the Kansas reservation they retained after the Citizen Band moved to Oklahoma
- Walpole Island First Nation - an unceded territory in the mouth of the St. Clair River on the border between Ontario, Canada and Michigan. Some Potawatomi joined Chippewa and Ottawa here after 1836, forming the Three Fires Confederacy (a political and cultural compact).
created by Erin Gaul for LIS-623 Genealogy and Local History class, IUPUI MLIS program, DLIS Dept
last updated: June 30, 2021
last updated: June 30, 2021