Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians (

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

: Pokégnek Bodéwadmik) are a

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

-speaking tribe based in southwestern Michigan and northeastern Indiana. Tribal government functions are located in

Dowagiac, Michigan Dowagiac ( ) is a city in Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,721 at the 2020 census. It is part of the South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies ...

. They occupy reservation lands in a total of ten counties in the area. The Pokagon are descendants of the residents of allied Potawatomi villages that were historically located along the St. Joseph, Paw Paw and

Kalamazoo river The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch.U.S. Geologic ...

s in what are now southwest Michigan and northern Indiana. They were the only Potawatomi band to gain permission from the United States government to remain in Michigan after Indian removal in the 1830s. The tribe has been federally recognized since 1994 legislation affirmed its status; it has established self-government.

History

Some believe the Potawatomi originated as a people along the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coastline at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Archaeologists say they migrated south from Ontario about 1,000 years ago. Other tribal elders, including Michael Williams, told that Potawatomi originated at the mouth of the Grand River at its mouth at Lake Michigan or along the St. Joseph River near Mishawaka, Indiana. Some followers believe over centuries, along with the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

and

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

peoples, they migrated west to the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

region some 500–800 years ago in a "Great Migration." The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians were party to 11 treaties with the federal government, with the major land cession being under the

1833 Treaty of Chicago The 1833 Treaty of Chicago was an agreement between the United States government and the Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi tribes. It required them to cede to the United States government their of land (including reservations) in Illinois, ...

. During the Indian removals, many Potawatomi bands were moved west, but Chief Leopold Pokagon negotiated to keep his Potawatomi band of 280 people in southwestern Michigan. They were the only Potawatomi band who did not remove west of the Mississippi River. Under the

Indian Reorganization Act The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...

of 1934, the Pokagon Band wanted to restore self-government and requested recognition as a tribe by the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

, but were denied because of conditions of their treaties and the legislation. After years of petitioning, the Pokagon Band regained recognition in 1994 through legislation affirming their status. Many of the cities and streets in the Michigan area have adopted Potawatomi names.

Contemporary

Casinos

As a federally recognized tribe, the Pokagon Band were able to develop and open in 2007 the Four Winds New Buffalo casino on the Pokagon Reservation. It is located in New Buffalo Township, near

New Buffalo, Michigan New Buffalo is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,708 during the 2020 census. History The area around the mouth of the Galien River was originally populated by Miami and Potawatomi peoples. Later, Fren ...

. The casino is operated in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and a compact with Michigan. It expanded in 2011 due to its success. The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' reported that if the casino were on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

, it would be the second largest there. Architecturally the casino's rotunda is built in the style of the Potawatomi people's traditional lodges. A second, satellite casino, Four Winds Hartford, opened in 2011 in Hartford, Michigan. The tribe opened a third, Four Winds Dowagiac, in 2013 in

. The band has been limited to three casinos by its 2008 compact with the state of Michigan. In 2018 the tribe opened Four Winds South Bend in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, which it has claimed qualifies for gaming pursuant to specific provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In February 2021, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians announced the rollout of its online gaming platform, making it the 11th licensee to offer both online sports betting and casino gaming in Michigan. The tribe has invested revenues from gaming in building needed housing and plans a community center. In a competition for federal stimulus funds, the Pokagon were granted $2 million from the

Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and u ...

to build a planned community center at their tribal center in Dowagiac. The building has been designed to satisfy Silver

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

standards, and incorporates a number of innovations to reduce its energy use and create a sustainable building: including a

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

, thick concrete flooring to act as a

heat sink A heat sink (also commonly spelled heatsink) is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is thermal management (electronics), ...

, windows to the south to gain winter sun and heat, and geothermal systems.

Land

In 2018 the

Field Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

in Chicago, which stands on Pokagon land, included a tribal member in its advisory committee of scholars and museum professionals. The committee is tasked with informing the transformation of the Native North American Hall to incorporate perspectives and voices of Native peoples and Indigenous nations.

Language

A decreasing number of elders among the Potawatomi bands speak the language, but the Pokagon are participating in a program to restore teaching and use of the language: See .

Tribal government

Members of the tribal council, including the chairman, are elected by members of the tribe. By their positions, they also serve as members of the Pokagon Gaming Authority.

Tribal Court

The Tribal Judiciary is a separate and independent branch of the Pokagon Band government. The Tribal Court Judiciary consists of the Chief Judge, one Associate Judge, and three Appellate Court Justices. All members of the Judiciary are appointed by the Tribal Council to serve staggered four (4)-year terms.

Tribal Police

The Pokagon Tribal Police Department was established in 2003 to provide direct law enforcement services to the tribal members and visitors in the ten-county tribal geographic boundaries in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The Pokagon Tribal Police Department is a full-service police department, servicing all areas within the Tribe's jurisdiction. The Tribal Police are charged with enforcing federal, state, and local laws, including the Pokagon Band Code of Offenses.

Gaming Commission

The Pokagon Band Gaming Commission was established the in 2007 as an independent subdivision. The Gaming Commission regulates all gaming conducted within Pokagon Band jurisdiction under the Gaming Regulatory Act, the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and the tribal-state Gaming Compact between the Band and the State of

and

References

External links

Official website
*
Inter-tribal Council of MichiganWhy aren't there any federal Indian reservations in Illinois?
{{authority control Algonquian ethnonyms Allegan County, Michigan American Indian reservations in Michigan Anishinaabe communities in the United States Anishinaabe reservations and tribal-areas in the United States Berrien County, Michigan Cass County, Michigan Federally recognized tribes in the United States Great Lakes tribes Indigenous peoples in the United States Native American tribes in Indiana Native American tribes in Michigan Van Buren County, Michigan