Group

Potawatomi (Amerind tribe)

Nation Active 1500 CE – present

The Pottawatomi, also spelled Pottawatomie and Potawatomi (among many variations), are a Native American people of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River and Western Great Lakes region.

They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family.

The Potawatomi call themselves Neshnabé, a cognate of the word Anishinaabe.

The Potawatomi are part of a long-term alliance, called the Council of Three Fires, with the Ojibwe, Odawa (Ottawa).

In the Council of Three Fires, the Potawatomi are considered the "youngest brother" and are referred to in this context as Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and refers to the council fire of three peoples.In the nineteenth century, they are pushed to the west by European/American encroachment in the late eighteenth century and removed from their lands in the Midwest to reservations in Oklahoma.

Under Indian Removal, they eventually cede many of their lands, and most of the Potawatomi relocated to Nebraska, Kansas and Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

Some bands survive in the Midwest and today are federally recognized as tribes.

Member Cities

Moran, J. (n.d.). Potawatomi (Amerind tribe). History Atlas. Retrieved 2 October 2026, from https://www.historyatlas.com/groups/potawatomi-amerind-tribe/

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