The Cultural Heritage Center houses the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s museum, archives, research center & library, Tribal Heritage Productions, veteran memorial, Tribal Language and Tribal Enrollment Departments. It was envisioned as a living history museum and cultural center, where tribal members, the Native American community and the public at large could learn about the culture and history of the Citizen Potawatomi …
August 16, 2007, the BIA’s unnecessary oversight of our Tribal government was rejected by voters and the Citizen Potawatomi Nation overwhelmingly ratified a new constitution. It expanded the legislative body to include representatives from throughout the United States; clearly defined the separation of governmental powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government; and removed, wherever possible, the United …
Born in Detroit, Coquillard was an explorer and fur trader. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, serving under Major General William Henry Harrison. In 1823, he moved to Indiana’s St. Joseph River Valley and established a trading post near fellow American Fur Company agent Pierre Frieschutz Navarre. Trading with local Potawatomi and Miami communities, Coquillard became one …
The Darling family’s Potawatomi ties began with the marriage of Elizabeth Ouilmette and Lucius (Louis) Ripley Darling. Darling was of Scottish and Irish descent and operated a ferry. He married Elizabeth on July 15, 1836. She was the daughter of Antoine, known as one of the first residents of Chicago, and Archange Chevalier Ouilmette. Archange’s mother, Chopa, was the daughter …
The Dawes Act of 1887, also known as the Dawes Severalty Act or General Allotment Act, was a bill passed by congress to split up communal lands held by tribal nations. The purpose of the bill, as stated by its sponsor Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, was to radically assimilate Native people into white society by introducing individual land-ownership …
Translated as “the time when plants stop growing,” dgwaget was traditionally a time of harvest and final preparation for winter. Food and supplies collected during the warmer months were readied for storage and travel. Still today, Bodéwadmi honor the season and Creator for what was provided, hosting feasts and ceremonies during the Moons of autumn. Within the expansive Great Lakes …
The 1493 Doctrine of Discovery guided the colonization of the Americas and became part of U.S. law, history, and Euro-American dominant culture. This doctrine is a set of papals from the late 1400’s put out by the Pope. They are the legal basis for the theft of lands in the non-European world by colonizing European powers and legal justification for …
European colonization was a massive structural event, whereby the imperial powers of Europe including Spain, France, England, the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, Belgium, and later (in the 1880’s) Germany and Italy, violently invaded the lands of North, South, and Central America, Australia, New Zealand, China, the Philippines, the Caribbean, most of South East Asia, India, the Middle and Near East, …
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Family Reunion Festival is an annual celebration of native culture for the Citizen Potawatomi people. The Festival takes place during the last Saturday of June for tribal members and their guests. Tribal elections are held during the Festival and voting occurs on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the tribal courtroom (in the Citizen …
For thousands of years, Native tribes settled the region of present-day Chicago. Chegago is a Potawatomi word that described the area’s smell, commonly thought to be wild onions. The land was secured in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville, with the goal of controlling the strategic portage of Lake Michigan to the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. Built by Captain Joh Whistler …