Who Are the Potawatomi?
The Potawatomi (Bodéwadmi, "Keepers of the Fire") are an Algonquian-speaking people originally from the Great Lakes region, today numbering approximately 35,000 enrolled members across nine federally recognized bands in the United States and three First Nations in Canada. Along with the Ojibwe (Older Brother) and Odawa (Middle Brother), the Potawatomi formed the **Three Fires Confederacy** (Council of Three Fires), a powerful alliance that dominated the western Great Lakes for centuries. As Keepers of the Sacred Fire, the Potawatomi maintained the council fire and served as warriors and diplomats for the confederacy. Multiple forced removals scattered the Potawatomi across Kansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Canada—yet they maintained cultural connections across vast distances.
The Three Fires Confederacy
The **Council of Three Fires** united the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi—peoples sharing common Anishinaabe ancestry and language—into a powerful military and political alliance. According to tradition, they were once one people who separated at Michilimackinac (Mackinac Island), each assuming distinct roles: the Ojibwe as spiritual leaders and keepers of sacred scrolls, the Odawa as traders and provisioners, and the Potawatomi as warriors and keepers of the council fire. This metaphorical fire represented the alliance's unity—the Potawatomi's role maintaining it reflected their responsibility for military defense and diplomatic relations. The confederacy fought together against the Iroquois Confederacy's western expansion in the Beaver Wars, sided with the French against the English, and later formed the core of **Pontiac's Rebellion** (1763) and **Tecumseh's confederacy** (1810s). Even after removal scattered the Potawatomi, the Three Fires bond persists; annual gatherings reunite the peoples.
The Trail of Death
The Potawatomi experienced multiple forced removals, the most tragic being the 1838 **Trail of Death**. After ceding lands in Indiana through treaties obtained through fraud and bribery, 859 Potawatomi—including chiefs who had refused removal—were forcibly marched at bayonet point 660 miles from Indiana to Kansas Territory. Over two months in brutal summer heat, approximately 42 people died, mostly children and elderly; the priest accompanying them named it the "Trail of Death." Other Potawatomi bands faced separate removals at different times, some going to Kansas, others to Oklahoma, still others escaping to Canada or hiding in Wisconsin and Michigan. This dispersal created today's scattered Potawatomi nations: the **Citizen Potawatomi Nation** (Oklahoma, 36,000 members), **Prairie Band Potawatomi** (Kansas), **Forest County Potawatomi** (Wisconsin), **Hannahville** and **Gun Lake** bands (Michigan), and others. The Trail of Death is commemorated annually, with descendants walking portions of the route.
Cultural Traditions and Language
Potawatomi culture shares many elements with other Anishinaabe peoples: clan systems organizing social and ceremonial life, the Midewiwin medicine society, seasonal rounds of hunting, fishing, gathering, and later agriculture. The Potawatomi particularly excelled in agriculture, cultivating corn, beans, squash, and tobacco in the fertile lands around Lake Michigan. Their name for themselves—Bodéwadmi—relates to the tending of fire, both the literal council fire and metaphorical spiritual fire. The **Potawatomi language** is critically endangered, with fewer than 100 fluent first-language speakers remaining, mostly elderly. However, revitalization efforts are intensive: the Citizen Potawatomi Nation's language department, immersion programs, and apps like the Potawatomi Dictionary work to teach new speakers. Traditional arts including ribbon work, beadwork, and black ash basket making continue, while the Dream Dance (drum religion) provides spiritual practice for some communities.
Contemporary Potawatomi Nations
Today's Potawatomi bands represent remarkable survival despite deliberate scattering. The **Citizen Potawatomi Nation** (Oklahoma) is one of America's largest tribes, with extensive economic enterprises including banking, real estate, and diversified businesses. The **Forest County Potawatomi** (Wisconsin) operate a successful casino near Milwaukee, funding comprehensive social services. The **Prairie Band Potawatomi** (Kansas) maintain lands near their Trail of Death destination. The **Gun Lake Tribe** achieved federal recognition only in 1999 after a 150-year struggle, then built a casino generating resources for tribal services. The **Nottawaseppi Huron Band** (Michigan) similarly won recognition after decades of effort. Canadian Potawatomi at Walpole Island and other First Nations maintain connections with US relatives. Annual gatherings, powwows, and the inter-tribal Three Fires Confederacy meetings reconnect scattered peoples. The Potawatomi demonstrate how a people forcibly dispersed across a continent can maintain cultural unity and rebuild nations from diaspora.
References
- Clifton, J. A. (1977). The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture. Regents Press of Kansas.
- Edmunds, R. D. (1978). The Potawatomis: Keepers of the Fire. University of Oklahoma Press.
- Mitchell, J. L. (2014). A Journey to the Land of Souls: The Story of the Potawatomi Trail of Death. Rochester Press.
- Bowes, J. P. (2016). Land Too Good for Indians: Northern Indian Removal. University of Oklahoma Press.