The
Potawatomi (also spelled
Pottawatomie and
Pottawatomi, among
many variations) are a
Native American people of the upper
Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the
Potawatomi language, a member of the
Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves
Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied to them by their
Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) cousins. They originally called themselves
Neshnabé, a
cognate of the word
Anishinaabe.
The Potawatomi were part of a long term alliance with the
Ojibwe and
Ottawa, called the
Council of Three Fires. In the Council of Three Fires, Potawatomi were considered the "youngest brother."
Name
The English "Potawatomi" is derived from the
Ojibwe Boodawaadamii(g) (syncoped in the
Ottawa as
Boodwadmii(g)), but the Potawatomi's name for themselves is
Bodéwadmi (without syncope:
Bodéwademi; plural:
Bodéwadmik), a cognate of Ojibwe form. Their name means “those who keep/tend the hearth-fire,” which refers to the hearth of the
Council of Three Fires. The word itself comes from “to keep/tend the hearth-fire,” which is
bodewadm (without syncope:
bodewadem) in the
Potawatomi language; the Ojibwe and Ottawa forms are
boodawaadam and
boodwaadam, respectively.
Alternatively, the Potawatomi call themselves
Neshnabé (without syncope:
Eneshenabé; plural:
Neshnabék), a cognate of Ojibwe
Anishinaabe(g), meaning “Original People.”
History
The Potawatomi are first mentioned in 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 Nation.
Potawatomi warriors were an important part of
Tecumseh's Confederacy and took part in
Tecumseh's War, the
War of 1812 and the
Peoria War, although their allegiance switched repeatedly between the
British and the Americans.
At the time of the War of 1812, a band of Potawatomi were present near
Fort Dearborn, in the current location of
Chicago. This tribe was agitated by chiefs Blackbird and Nuscotomeg (Mad Sturgeon), and a force of about 500 attacked the evacuation column leaving Fort Dearborn; a majority of the civilians and 54 of Captain Nathan Heald's force were killed, along with many wounded. This attack is referred to as the
Fort Dearborn massacre. A Potawatomi chief named
Mucktypoke (
Makdébki, Black Partridge), counseled against the attack and later saved some of the civilians that were being ransomed by the Potawatomi.
[Edmunds, R. David (1988). The Potawatomis: Keepers of the Fire. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press (Civilization of the American Indian Series). ISBN 0-8061-2069-X.] There was also Potawatomi land in
Crown Point, Indiana.
According to an article in the
, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Indians purchased of land near
Shabbona, Illinois, in rural
DeKalb County.
Leaders
French Period (1615–1763)
The
French period of contact began with early explorers who reached the Potawatomi in western Michigan and then 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 of Michigan, leaving the large communities in Wisconsin.
- Onanghisse (Wnaneg-gizs "Shimmering Light") at Green Bay
English Period (1763–1783)
The British period of contact began with the French removal at the end of the French and Indian War and was punctuated by Pontiac’s Rebellion and the capture of every British frontier garrison but 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 (Water Moccasin) at Detroit
American Treaty Period (1783–1830)
The American Treaty period of Potawatomi history began with the Treaty of Paris (1783), which ended the American Revolutionary War and established the United States' interest in the lower Great Lakes. It lasted until the treaties for removal were signed. The Potawatomi were recognized as a single tribe and there were often a few tribal leaders that all villages accepted. Still, the Potawatomi had a dispersed organization and belonged to several main divisions based on where they were located: 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 their geographic area.Milwaukee Potawatomi
- Siggenauk (Siginak: "Le Tourneau" or "Blackbird")
Chicago Potawatomi
- Burnett
[McPherson, Alan (1993). Indian Names in Indiana.] (1790?–1871) or Abraham Burnett
- Billy Caldwell,
[ also known as Sauganash (Zhaaganaash: "Englishman") (1780–1841)]
Des Plaines and Fox River Potawatomi
- Mukatapenaise (Mkedébnés "Blackbird")
- Waubansee (He Causes Paleness))
- Waweachsetoh
[ along with La Gesse, Gomo or Masemo (Resting Fish)]
Illinois River Potawatomi
- Mucktypoke
[ (Makdébki: "Black Partridge") ]
- Senachewine
[ (d. 1831) (Petacho or Znajjewan "Difficult Current") 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 ("Crafty One") ]
- Mesasa (Mezsézed, "Turkey Foot")
St. Joseph and Elkhart Potawatomi
- Topinbee (He who sits Quietly) (??-1826)
Tippecanoe and Wabash River Potawatomi
- Kewanna
[ (1790?–1840s?) (Prairie Chicken) Eel River]
- Monoquet
[ (1790s–1830s) 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]
Fort Wayne Potawatomi
- Metea
[ (1760?–1827) (Mdewé "Sulks") ]
- 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 reservations were created, then continually reduced in size. The final step was the removal of the Illinois Potawatomi to Nebraska and then the Indiana Potawatomi to Kansas. The removal of the Indiana Potawatomi was documented by a Catholic priest, Benjamin Petit who accompanied the Indians on the Potawatomi Trail of Death. Petit died while returning to Indiana. His diary was published by the Indiana Historical Society in 1941. Many Potawatomi found ways to remain, primarily those in Michigan, and others fled to their Odawa neighbors or Canada to avoid removal.
- Mecosta (Mkozdé, "Having a Bear's Foot")
- Menominee (1791?–1841) Twin Lakes of Marshall County
- Mackahtamoah (Mkedémwi, "Black Wolf") of Nottawasippi
- Shupshewahno (1800s–1841) or Shipshewana (Vision of a Lion) at Shipshewana Lake.
Bands
There are several active bands of Potawatomi:
Potawatomi bands in the United States—
Bands with significant Potawatomi population in Canada—
Population
Clans
Chauvignerie (1736) and Morgan (1877) mentions among the Potawatomi doodems (clans) being:
- Jejakwé (Thunderer, i.e. Crane)
- Mkedésh-gékékwa (Black Hawk)
Location
The Potawatomi first lived in lower Michigan, then moved to northern Wisconsin and eventually settled into northern Indiana and central Illinois. In the early 19th century, major portions of Potawatomi lands were seized by the U.S. government. Following the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, most of the Potawatomi people were forcibly removed from the tribe's lands. Many perished en route to new lands in the west through Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma, following what became known as the "Trail of Death".Language
Potawatomi (also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi Bodéwadmimwen or Bodéwadmi Zheshmowen or Neshnabémwen) is a Central Algonquian language and is spoken around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Kansas and in southern Ontario. There are fewer than 50 people who speak Potawatomi as a first language, most of them elderly. There is currently an effort underway to revitalize the language.
Potawatomi language is the most similar to the Odawa language; however, it also has borrowed a considerable amount of vocabulary from Sauk. Like the Odawa language, or the Ottawa dialect of the Anishinaabe language, the Potawatomi language exhibits great amount of vowel syncope.
Many places in the Midwest have names derived from the Potawatomi language, including Allegan, Waukegan, Muskegon, Oconomowoc and Skokie.See also
