Potawatomi

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The Potawatomi (also spelled Pottawatomie or Pottawatomi) 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 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."

Contents

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 the Bay of Green Bay to escape attacks by the Iroquois and 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 English and the Americans.

At the time of the War of 1812 a band of Potawatomies 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 killing a majority of the civilians and 54 of Captain Nathan Heald's force along with many wounded. This attack is referred to as the Fort Dearborn massacre. A Potawatomi chief named Mucktypoke (Black Partridge), counciled against the attack and later saved some of the civilians that were being ransomed by the Potawatomis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There was also Potawatomi land in Crown Point, Indiana.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Indians purchased 1,280 acres of land near Shabbona, Illinois, in rural DeKalb County. The tribal leaders have been silent on what it plans to do with the land, though many residents believe the tribe intends to build a casino on the property.

Bands

Rain dance, Kansas, c. 1920
Rain dance, Kansas, c. 1920

There are several active bands of Potawatomi:

Location

Trail of Death marker in Warren County, Indiana.
Trail of Death marker in Warren County, Indiana.

The Potawatomi first lived in lower Michigan, then moved to northern Wisconsin and eventually settled into northern Indiana and central Illinois. In the early 1800s, major portions of Potawatomi lands were annexed 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, following what became known as the "Trail of Death".

Language

Main article: Potawatomi language

Potawatomi is an Algonquian language spoken by fewer than 100 people in Ontario and the north-central United States. The current speakers are all older people and there is fear that the language may die out in the near future.

Many places in the Midwest have names derived from the Potawatomi language, including Allegan, Waukegan, Muskegon, and Skokie.

External links

Retrieved from "http://www.nativewiki.org/Potawatomi"
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