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The Potawatomi
The tribe that held the Chicago region from
about the close of the seventeenth century until 1833 were the Potawatomi. They
axe discussed here at some length, as they played an important role throughout
the early American period, and we are fortunate in possessing quite detailed
accounts of their mode of life. According to a tradition possessed by all three
tribes, the Potawatomi, Chippewa, and Ottawa were once one people, and appear in
history more or less simultaneously in the territory about the upper end of Lake
Huron. The name Potawatomi means "People of the Place of Fire," as did the Huron
name Asistagueroiion, which Champlain
used in referring to the western enemies of the Huron. The term "Fire Nation"
was at first used rather generally in referring to the Potawatomi, Sauk, Fox,
and other tribes whose territories in early times met near Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Later, one band of the Potawatomi, those dwelling to the south on the prairie,
became known as the Mascoutens, or "Little Prairie-people," while the other
division living in northern Wisconsin became known as the Forest Potawatomi.
There seems to have been another Algonkian tribe in the same region who were
also known as the Mascoutens, that later merged with the Sauk; hence the
unrestricted use of such terms as "Fire People" or "Mascoutens" by early priests
and explorers often leaves some doubt as to the exact people referred to.
However, as Skinner points out, the term "Mascouten" generally implies a branch
of the Potawatomi. Many early accounts mention the Potawatomi, and the
impression one receives from these varies with the personal experiences of the
writers. As a general rule the French accounts are favorable, and the English
accounts are not; for the friendship between the pioneers of France and the Potawatomi was early
formed and lasting. In 1666, Father Allouez describes the Potawatomi as "a
people whose country is about the lake of the Ill-i-mouek, a great lake than;
has not come to our knowledge, adjoining the lake o f the Hurons and that of the
Puants [Winnebago at Green Bay] between the east and the south. They are a
warlike people, hunters and fishers. Their country is good for Indian corn of
which they plant fields, and to which they repair to avoid the famines that are
too frequent in these quarters. They are in the highest degree idolaters,
attached to ridiculous fables and devoted to polygamy . . . Of all the people
that I have associated with in these countries, they are the mast docile and
affectionate toward the French. Their wives and daughters are more reserved than
those of other nations. They have a kind of civility among them, and make it
quite apparent to strangers which is rare among our barbarians." In 1718, an official "Memoir on the Indians between
Lake Erie and the Mississippi," gives the following account of the Potawatomi
village near Detroit:
"The port of Detroit is south west of the river. The
village of the Potawatomies adjoins the fort; they lodge partly under apaquois
[an Ojibwa term for reed mats] which are made of mat grass. "The women do all the work. The men belonging to the
nation are well clothed, like our domesticated Indians at Montreal. Their entire
occupation is hunting and dress. They make use of a great deal of vermilion and
in winter wear buffalo robes richly painted, and in summer either red or blue
cloth. They play a good deal at La Crosse in summer, twenty or more on a side.
Their bat is a sort of a little racket, and the ball with which they play is
made of very heavy wood, somewhat larger than the balls used at tennis. They are entirely naked except a breech cloth and moccasins on
their feet. Their bodies are completely painted with all sorts of colors. Some,
with white clay, trace white lace on their bodies, as if on all the seams of a
coat, and at a distance, it would be taken for silver lace. They play very deep
and often the bets sometimes amounting to more than eight hundred lives. They
set up two poles, and commence the game from the centre; one party propels the
ball from one side, and the others from the opposite, and whichever reaches the
goal wins. It is a fine recreation well worth seeing. They often play village
against village. The Poux ["Lice," a nickname for the Potawatomi] against the
Ottawa, or Huron, and at heavy stakes. Sometimes the French join in the game
with them. "The women cultivate Indian-corn, beans, squashes and
melons, which come up very fine. The women and girls dance at night. They adorn
themselves considerably; grease their hair, paint their faces with vermilion,
put on a white chemise, wear whatever wampum they possess, and are very tidy in
their way. They dance to the sound of the drum and si-si-quoi [pronounced
shi-shi-gwan] which is a sort of gourd containing some grains of shot. Four or
five young men sing and beat time with the drum and rattle, and the women keep
time, and do not lose a step. It is very interesting, and lasts almost the
entire night. "The old men dance the medicine [dance]. They resemble
a set of demons; and all this takes place during the night. The young men often
dance in a circle, and strike posts. It is then they recount their achievements,
and dance, at the same time, the war dance; and whenever they act thus they are
highly ornamented. It is altogether very curious. They often perform these
things for tobacco. When they go hunting, which is every fall, they carry their
apaquois with them, to but under at night. Everybody follows men, women and children. They winter in the forest and return
in the spring." Very different in tone are the various early accounts
of the Potawatomi given by the English traders and explorers. John Long (Voyages
and Travels in the Years 1768-88) characterizes the Poes (Potawatomi) as "a very
wild, savage people, who have an aversion to Englishmen and generally give them
as much trouble as possible in passing or repassing the Fort of St. Joseph's,
where some French traders are settled by their permission." Somewhat similar are
the complaints of Sir William Johnston in 1772, in regard to murders and
robberies committed by the Potawatomi, instigated by the jealousy of French
traders. The Potawatomi were evidently good friends and bad enemies, and seem to
have long maintained their individuality and pride even under adverse
circumstances. Writing in 1835, in regard to the Potawatomi who had been removed
to Council Bluffs, Iowa, Father De Smet says, "We arrived among the Potawatomi
on the afternoon of the 31st of May. Nearly 2,000 savages in their finest rigs
and carefully painted in all sorts of patterns, were awaiting the boat at the
landing. I had not seen so imposing a sight nor such fine-looking Indians in
America: the Iowas, the Sauk, and the Otoe are beggars compared to these."
Simon Kahquados, a recent chief of the Potawatomi in Wisconsin, whose portrait
is given here (Plate I), illustrates Father De Smet's description of the
imposing appearance of the Potawatomi.
Simon Kanquados
Potawatomi Chief, Rat River, Wisconsin
Recent studies of the Prairie Potawatomi have been
made, and more is known of their daily and ceremonial life than is the case with
the Illinois or Miami. The Potawatomi have for along time been divided into two
divisions, the Forest and Prairie groups. The former group appears to have kept
most of the old culture traits characteristic of the Algonkian peoples in general; while the Prairie bands have
been influenced first by the Miami and Illinois tribes, and later by the Sauk
and Fox, so that their customs which prevailed some fifty years ago seem
somewhat mixed. There were about ten bands of the Prairie Potawatomi, the
largest of which called themselves "Muskodens," and formerly dwelt about the
southern end of Lake Michigan with their main town at the site of modern
Chicago. Prairie Potawatomi society was composed of some twenty-three clans,
which reckoned descent in the father's line. They were named after natural
phenomena such as the raven, bear, buffalo, man, etc., and these were grouped
according to type of name, for example, the sea and fish clans would belong to
the water division or phratry. In addition to these groupings there were two
large divisions of society characterized by the use of black or white paint, the
oldest child always joining the former division, the second child the other, and
so on in succession. A similar division of all the tribe between the upper and
lower worlds, according to whether the clan totem was a bird or a mammal, also
existed. Each clan had a sacred bundle containing various
objects believed to be sacred. It was the possession of such bundles that gave
power and success to the clans in their activities according to the belief of
the Indians. Many of the bundles were supposedly given the clans by the great
culture hero Wi'saka, but others were acquired or made as the result of dreams,
or visions of the people who originated the clan. Thus each bundle came to have
a special legend attached to it, accounting for its origin. The chieftainship of the Prairie Potawatomi was usually
hereditary in the fish clan, and the chief was largely a civil and military
authority. He appointed each year a ceremonial chief who conducted all the
ceremonies and activities of the people. Should a man commit murder, the tribal chief would send for the keeper
of the tribal peace-pipe (Plate VIII), and a council would be held to discuss
the case. If the chief thought the man guilty, he would smoke the pipe, and the
murderer would be executed. If the man appeared not to be guilty, the pipe
bearer with flint and steel would attempt to light his pipe; if he succeeded in
four strokes of the steel, the man went free; but if he failed, the man was
executed. It was possible for an influential man to escape the consequences of
three murders; but if he should kill four people, nothing could save
him.
Ceremonial objects of the Potawatomi
Above, drum of the Waubano Society, with
design symbolizing the dawn.
Below two ceremonial pipes.
Special names in honor of their exploits were given to
warriors who were brave in battle, and war honors were awarded to the first four
men who touched a dead foe, in order of precedence. This was a much more
noteworthy feat in the eyes of the Potawatomi than merely killing an enemy. A
single tuft of hair from the crown of the head was taken as a scalp; prisoners
were often tortured and scalped by the boys and young men. Before war parties
the aid of the clan bundles was invoked, and special war bundles were carried by
the leaders on campaigns, in front of them on the out trip and behind them on
the return, so that the bundle would always be between them and the enemy. Young children were given names at a ceremony for the
clan bundles, and these names usually referred to the name of their clan. In
former times when children reached the age of about ten years, the parents would
urge them to fast all day and seek a vision. By the time children were fifteen
or sixteen years of age, they were made to go from four to eight days without
eating or drinking. All this was to enable the children to have a vision which
would give them a guardian spirit through life, and would bring them success.
Only when he had obtained such a dream was a boy considered to be a man. Marriages were usually arranged between the parents of a
boy and girl, but the boy's and girl's consent was usually obtained. If all
parties agreed, then the boy came to his bride's lodge that night, and the
marriage was concluded. Sometimes a youth would pick out the girl he wanted for
himself and tell her his desire. If she was agreeable, she had her family invite
all his relatives to a feast. Then, well mounted, the groom rode to the bride's
house and dismounted,
going into the wigwam where the girl sat beside the rawhide trunks that held all
her possessions. Standing there, the boy took off all his clothes and presented
them to her; and she, opening her trunks, gave him an entire new outfit of
clothing which he donned immediately. Then the feast began, the two families
exchanging food. At the close of the feast an old man lectured the young couple
on their mutual duties, and other relatives of both of them followed in turn.
The horse was brought out, and the girl rode over to the boy's lodge: here his
relatives dressed her in new clothes, and she returned, bringing all the groom's
possessions. Thus the marriage was concluded. The houses of the Potawatomi were similar to those of
their neighbors; the round birch bark and mat house was used in winter, and the
larger, rectangular, mat-covered house in summer. Occasionally buffalo hide tipis
were used. When a new lodge was made in the autumn, a feast of dog meat,
elaborately prepared, was eaten, and offerings of tobacco and cedar smoke were
made before the house could be occupied. In such rites the chief's wife was
always first, and the others followed. A similar ceremony occurred in the spring
when they moved into the square mat-houses. The leaders of the annual buffalo hunt were chosen from
among the principal men of the buffalo clan, and usually the keeper of the clan
bundle was chosen. A feast was then held, and imitative ceremonies supposed to
attract the buffalo were held. At the
close of the feast, representatives of the two tribal divisions (moieties) held
an eating race; the winners in consuming the hot food were appointed to carry
the sacred buffalo clan bundle on the hunt. Sixteen braves were appointed by the
leader as guards or police, and these carried elkhorn-handled whips with which
they enforced the rules of the hunt. As they traveled west toward the buffalo
ranges, no hunting was allowed for fear it might frighten the herds. When the buffalo were sighted, the hunters were divided
in two groups to surround the herd if possible, and the hunt was carried on
under the control of the sixteen police. When the first hunt terminated, each
person brought a piece of meat to the leader as an offering, and a ceremonial
feast was held. After this the hunt was resumed, but all were now allowed to
hunt separately and as they pleased. When the hunt was over a feast was held,
dried meat, robes, and tallow were packed, and the people started for home. On
the return trip the four men beaten in the eating contest carried the buffalo
clan bundle. At night the hunters fired the prairie, so that those remaining at
home might see the smoke and prepare the camp for their reception. When they
reached camp, all repaired to their own houses; the next day a feast was held by
the buffalo clan to name all children born while the hunt was on. After this
ceremony was over, all the other clans had naming ceremonies and feasts. Then
followed a time of games and feasting. The Potawatomi likewise sent out quite large parties to
secure deer, and black bears were hunted in winter when they were sleeping in
caves. Beaver, otter, mink, and muskrat were trapped and snared for fur and for
food. Gill nets of bark or fibre twine were made and set in lakes and streams;
in the winter time fish were speared through the ice, or were caught in seines. In the spring, quantities of ducks and geese were
killed and preserved in brine. In addition to all these products of the chase,
they cultivated maize, squash, beans, and tobacco, while the forests and lakes
furnished quantities of berries and wild rice. As the account of Allouez
indicates, famines occurred when one or more staples failed them, but ordinarily
the people of the Great Lakes must have had a large The art of the Potawatomi as
manifested in porcupine quill and bead work seems more characteristic of the
Central Algonkians than the Plain's tribes. This design work appears most
commonly on their medicine bags, clothing, and mats (Plates III-VII), and is
characterized by either flamboyant scroll-work or by isolated graceful designs.
Diamond-shaped central figures, with leaf or scroll corner designs, rectangular
diamond shapes with different colors in them, and spider-web designs are all
typical Potawatomi motifs according to Mr. M. G. Chandler, who is well
acquainted with their art and varied food supply.
Potawatomi Yarn Bags
Upper left, for ceremonial articles,
decorated with horned water-panther design. Upper right for ceremonial
articles. The one below was used for personal possessions.
The Potawatomi of the lakes had both birchbark canoes
and dugouts which are typical of the Lake tribes; but the Prairie Potawatomi
while on the plains used the bull-boat, a raw buffalo hide stretched over a
wooden frame, to transport their goods across rivers. Similarly, after the
introduction of the horse, they used the travois, two poles dragged on each side
of a horse, with their possessions lashed on behind. The war club, the lance,
the bow and arrow, and the knife constituted the weapons of the Potawatomi. Like
the travois and the bull-boat, the Prairie Potawatomi made use of a. round
shield of buffalo hide. These three things are more typical of the Plain's
tribes than of the Eastern Woodland peoples to whom in most other
characteristics the Potawatomi belonged. The clothing of the Potawatomi which is still
obtainable largely represents colonial styles of the early
settlers, re-adapted by the Indians (Plates
V, VI).
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| Potawatomi Man's Costume |
Potawatomi Woman's Costume |
The decorative designs on
this clothing are largely native, whether in bead or ribbon appliqué work, but
the material, and in some cases the cut, is derived from the whites. The
collection of Potawatomi clothing and decorative bead and quill work gathered
for the Museum by Mr. Chandler, and now on exhibition, clearly demonstrates the
above points.
The religion of the Potawatomi, like that of most of
the Central Algonkian people, is hard to reduce to a formula, largely because it
does not seem to have been formally conceptualized in the minds of the Indians.
Schoolcraft states that the Potawatomi believed in a good spirit and a bad
spirit who governed the world between them, but this is a reflection of the
Christian doctrine. They did, however, conceive of a "Great Spirit" which
originally may have been the sun; and besides this vaguely personified deity,
their pantheon contained the archaic deities of fire, sun, and the sea, as well
as gods of the four directions. The evil power in the water was the great horned
water-panther, who was at constant war with the
Thunderbirds. The worship of the manitou, or power believed to be in other
natural objects such as plants or animals, was also a vital part of their
religious belief. They believed that the human body had but one soul or spirit,
and that this spirit eventually followed a trail over the Milky Way into the
western heavens to a land ruled over by Tcibia'bos, the brother of Wisaka, the
great culture hero. The power of the various manitou or spirits was often
visualized by the sacred clan bundles, and around these most of their
ceremonials radiated. At such feasts specially reared dogs were eaten, and no
ceremonial was complete without dog meat. Dogs used for this purpose were
carefully raised, kept from the polluting association of other dogs, and only killed
after many formalities had been observed. Besides the clan bundle
ceremonials there are those of the medicine lodge which may be joined by men and
women. The purposes of the society are to prolong life, cure sickness, and in
their keeping are various sacred myths of the Potawatomi. In the medicine lodge
ceremonies decorated animal skins are carried (Plate VII). The ritual and
initiation ceremonies are complex and known only to the initiated. There are
various other societies, such as the Waubano society or cult, composed of those
men who in their visions saw phenomena connected with the dawn. The drum of a
member of the Waubano society which depicts his vision is shown in Plate VIII.
Other cults existed based on other dream experiences, such as the Dream or
Religion dance, of rather late origin, and in addition to these are the
Warrior's, Begging, and purely social dances.
Potawatomi Medicine Bags
The one on the left made of mink skin with bead decorations.
The other of
otter skin with porcupine quill decorations. The Potawatomi claim to have received from the Comanche
the series of ceremonies called the Peyote cult. These ceremonies center around
a small cactus which grows in Mexico and the southwestern United States, that
produces a sort of spiritual exaltation when eaten. The spread of the Peyote
cult in historic times has been remarkable, and to-day it is one of the
strongest cults existing among the Indians of the United States and Mexico. For three nights after a death the clan members of the deceased sing, pray, and
go through ceremonies to propitiate and scare away the ghost. A coffin is then
made from a hollow tree, members of another clan dig the grave, and the body is
buried in the cemetery of the clan to which the person formerly belonged. It is
interesting to note that dead members of the man, or human clan, were interred
sitting up against a back best, with a framework of logs around them. With the
dead are placed a few weapons or utensils, and formerly a
favorite horse was sacrificed at the man's grave to serve his master in the
journey to the other world. Various mounds have been found in the vicinity of
Potawatomi burials, but there seems to be no correlation between any type of
mound and the burials of the tribe. Scattered as the Potawatomi are at present, many of
their old ceremonies are still carried on. It is still possible in northern
Wisconsin to find groups whose religious life is largely colored by the beliefs
of. their ancestors.
Notes About the Book:
Source: Indians of the Chicago Region, With Special Reference to the Illinois
and the Potawatomi, Field Museum of Natural history, Department of Anthropology,
Chicago, 1938.
Online Publication: The manuscript was scanned and then ocr'd. Minimal editing
has been done, and readers can and should expect some errors in the textual
output.
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