The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians have occupied southern Michigan, northern Indiana, northwestern Ohio, north and central Illinois, and the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin into the Dorr Peninsula for thousands of years.
Official Tribal Name: Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians
Address: 58620 Sink Road, Box 180, Dowagiac, Michigan 49047
Phone: (800) 517-0777
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Email:
Official Website: www.pokagon.com
Recognition Status: Federally Recognized
Traditional Name / Traditional Meaning:
Bode’wadmi– Firekeepers
Common Name / Meaning of Common Name:
Potawatomi
Alternate names / Alternate spellings: Pokégnek, Bodéwadmik, Ojibwa, Ojibway, More names for Ojibwe
Name in other languages:
Region: Northeast (Eastern Woodland) –> Ojibwa, Chippewa and Potawatomi
State(s) Today: Michigan, Indiana
Traditional Territory:
Confederacy: Council of the Three Fires, Ojibwe
Treaties:
Reservation: Pokagon Reservation
Land Area: 4700 acrea
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Registered Population Today: About 3,000 tribal members.
Tribal Enrollment Requirements:
To begin the process of enrollment with the Pokagon Band, contact the Enrollment Coordinator at (269) 462-4238 or (269) 782-1763.
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Language Classification: Algic => Algonquian => Central Algonquian => Ojibwa-Potawatomi => Potawatomi
Language Dialects: Potawatomi
Potawatomi is an Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwayan dialect complex.
Number of fluent Speakers:
The Potawatomi language is critically endangered and nearly extinct. It has about 50 first-language speakers in several widely separated communities in the US and Canada. These include the Hannahville Indian Community (Upper Peninsula of Michigan), the Pokagon and Huron Bands (southern Michigan), the Forest County Band (northern Wisconsin), the Prairie Band (eastern Kansas), and the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma. A few Potawatomi speakers also live among the Eastern Ojibwe in Ontario, particularly at the Walpole Island Reserve. The largest speech communities are in the Forest County and Prairie Bands, each with about 20 speakers, several conservatively fluent.
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Origins:
Bands, Gens, and Clans
Related Tribes:
Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan
Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Forest County Potawatomi
Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
Hannaville Indian Community
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
La Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Lac de Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians
Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Potawatomi
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
Saginaw Chippewa Indians
Sokaogon Chippewa Community
St. Croix Chippewa Indians
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
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Potawatomi Chiefs and Famous People:
Jim Thorpe whose indian name was Wathohuck , meaning Bright Star (Sauk/Pottawatomi 1888–1953), athlete who won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics
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