Tribe: The Potawatomi. They call themselves the "Bodewadmi" and "Neshnabe." There are eight federally-recognized Potawatomi tribes: the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma, the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin, the Hannahville Indian Community in Michigan, the Gun Lake tribe in Michigan, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Michigan, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation in Kansas, and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in Michigan and Indiana.
Meaning of Name: "Potawatomi" is Ojibwe for "Those who keep the hearth-fire." "Bodewadmi" means "Keepers of the Fire." "Neshnabe" is a shortened version of the word "Anishinaabe," which means "Original People." The Potawatomi were the "youngest brothers" of the "Council of Three Fires," meaning the alliance between the Ojibwe, the Ottowa and the Potawatomi tribes.
Location: Originally, they were from Wisconsin, the Upper Mississippi and the Great Lakes region, but now they live in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ontario in Canada.
Original Language: Potawatomi, a branch of the Algonquin language tree.
Tribal Affiliations: The Ojibwe (Chippewa) and the Ottawa tribes. Until the sixteenth century, they were all part of the same tribe. They also allied themselves with the French and the Jesuit missionaries, and did business with the Illinois tribes in order to get European goods in trade for their Potawatomi porcupine quills which were used as decoration on the Illinois tribes' clothing and moccasins.
Traditional Enemies: The Iroquois and the Sioux. Also the Miami, the Sauk, the Foxes, the Kickapoo and the Americans.
Traditional Style of Housing: Wigwams, which are dome-like bark-covered frame buildings. Their villages included wigwams, sweat-lodges, large circular menstrual lodges, lodges for smoking and drying meats, an athletic field and probably a larger wigwam or lodge that served as the town hall .
Traditional Attire: The men wore very decorated deerskin tunics, breechcloths, leggings and moccasins, and preferred red or blue clothing in the summer months. They usually wore their hair long, but sometimes got their heads shaved in a Mohawk or wore porky roaches when they went to war. Otherwise, traditionally, they wore beaded head-bands with one or two feathers in it, or turbans made of otter-fur. Before European contact, the women wore long or knee-length very decorated and stylish deerskin dresses, painted their faces in vermilion for special occasions, and wore their hair long. After European contact, once they had access to cotton material and the surplus of silk ribbon coming from post-Revolution France, they wore high-necked long-sleeved caped blouses with silk ribbons, and long skirts made of sewn-together wide strips of ribbon upon which they embroidered or put appliques. They also wore arm shawls and sashes.
Traditional Foods: The men hunted or trapped deer, bear, beaver, elk, bison, raccoons, rabbits, possum, turtles, turkey, geese, quail, ducks and other wild birds. They fished for or caught trout, bass, crayfish, catfish, paddlefish (prized for its caviar-like eggs), sturgeon (probably also prized for its eggs), eel, shad, pickerel, carp, suckers, buffalo fish, redhorse fish, crappie, walleye, drum fish and whitefish. The women gathered or grew corn, squash, beans, pumpkins, root vegetables, blueberries, cattail roots, chestnuts, walnuts, pecans, acorns, Indian potatoes, sunflowers, blackberries, strawberries, elderberries, hickory nuts, pawpaws, persimmons, crabapples, plums, wild grains, grapes, wild onions, and melons. They also processed maple syrup and made fry bread or bread made from the pounded nuts of the beech tree. The Potawatomi women also grew medicinal-herb gardens and tobacco.
Position of Women: Women were the farmers and cooks, and men were the field-clearers, the hunters and the fishermen. Either gender could serve as chief of the tribe. This seems to indicate that theirs was an egalitarian relationship, since during the warmer months, the woman supported the family with her farm, and during the cooler months, the men supported the family with his hunting and fishing. Couples were also expected to stay married for life.
Potawatomi Courtship: The Potawatomi was very strict about chastity and correct behavior. Other than that, I don't know.
Interesting Tidbits:
The Potawatomi ceded their lands in the Northern Mississippi and Great Lakes areas in 1833, and were force-marched from north-to-south, to "Indian Territory" in Oklahoma. This was referred to as the "Trail of Death," as compared to the east-to-west "Trail of Tears" taken by the Cherokee, the Choctaw, the Chickasaw, the Creek and the Seminole tribes....
They believe that song, drums, rattles, dances, pipes and fire communicate prayers and add to the connection to the Creator....
The Potawatomi say that they have been making baskets out of black ash trees for the past thousand years....
The Potawatomi believe that inappropriate actions lead to exclusion (shunning) which is the kiss of death for that misbehaving individual....
The most common Potawatomi clans are the Thunder Clan (the intellectuals), the Bear Clan (the healers) and the Turtle Clan (the environmentalists.)....
They honor the four directions: the east for understanding and rebirth, the south for fullness of youth and generosity, the west for self-acceptance and the unknown, and the north for wisdom and survival. They also honor the Seven Grandfather Teachings: Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility and Truth....
The Potawatomi grew tobacco which they believed was a gift from the spirits and which had to be returned to the spirits in terms of a thank-offering....
Potawatomi grandfathers make their grandchildren's cradleboards.
Traditional Religion: Midiwiwin, Catholic, Methodist.
Slavery and the Potawatomi: Potawatomi men enlisted in the Union Army as sharpshooters during the Civil War, figuring that if they could get in good with the U.S. Government, they might be in a better political position when it came to treaties.
Current Population: 28,000, combined.
Current Sources of Tribal Revenue: Casinos, resorts, gift shops, museums, parks, language-classes, arts and crafts, clothing, and replicas of artifacts.
Famous Potawatomi: None that I have heard of.
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