Potawatomi Tribe

The Potawatomi are Native Americans that originated in the state of Michigan. Some have since relocated to areas in Kansas and Oklahoma. The Potawatomi are closely related to the Ojibwe and Ottawa tribes. They were originally known as the Neshnabek which means "The People." There are approximately only 28,000 Potawatomi remaining today.

Hundreds of years ago, the Potawatomi people controlled a vast area of land in the Great Lakes area where they hunted, fished, planted and gathered crops. They were closely related to the Ojibwe and Ottawa tribes with similar languages and customs. The three tribes eventually formed an alliance in which the Potawatomi were deemed the "Keepers of the Sacred Fire." In the 1800's, the majority of the Potawatomi were forced to move as a result of the Treaty of Chicago in 1833. Many perished and died on their journey to the west to find new lands. Their tumultuous journey later became known as "The Trail of Death." Most of the Potawatomi people came to settle in Oklahoma. They have since migrated to areas in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Colorado.

• 796 AD: Formation of The Council of Three Fires

• 1764: Niagara Treaty with Britain

• 1789: Treaties between the United States of America and the Potawatomi 1789 - 1867

• 1812: The Fort Dearborn Massacre Chicago, Illinois

• 1829: Treaty at Prairie du Chien Michigan Territory

• 1830: Indian Removal Act legalizes forced movement of Indians west of the Mississippi

• 1832: Indian Creek Massacre near Ottawa, Illinois

• 1833: The Treaty of Chicago gives the Potawatomi three years to move west to Iowa and Missouri

• 1838: Trail of Death begins September 4 south of Plymouth, IN Map

• 1934: Indian Reorganization Act is passed and “It Didn’t Pan Out as We Thought...”

• 1970: Self-determination 1970-1980 (13 KB)

• 1978: American Indian Religious Freedom Act

• 1990: The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

• 2007: Neighbors seek return of the warehoused Fort Dearborn Massacre monument

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