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. Fort Dearborn Built by Captain …
Pontiac was an Odawa (Ottawa) Chief who organized a multi-tribe resistance, later known as Pontiac’s War, against the British in the Great Lakes area. Early Life: Pontiac was born in 1720 near the Maumee River in what is now Ohio. There is not a lot known about his early life but by 1755 he was the Odawa Chief. Pontiac had …
Under the 1825 Treaty of Dancing, the Choctaw Academy was established in Blue Springs Kentucky for the education of young Native American men and boys. It was constructed on the property of Colonel Richard Johnson, veteran of the War of 1812 and reputed as the man who killed Tecumseh. Johnson also served as the ninth Vice President under Martin Van …
Chopa was the daughter of Naunongee, respected warrior and leader among the Calumet Potawatomi of southern Lake Michigan. She was also the aunt to famed warriors Mad Sturgeon, White Sturgeon and Clear Day. Upon her marriage to François Chevalier, she took the Christian name of Marianne. Receiving several land grants from the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, the couple settled around …
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 …
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 …