Potawatomi

American  

[pot-uh-wot-uh-mee] / ˌpɒt əˈwɒt ə mi /

noun

plural

Potawatomis,

plural

Potawatomi

1. Also called Bodewadmi.  a member of an Algonquian people originally of Michigan and Wisconsin.

2. Also called Bodewadmimwen.  the Algonquian language of the Potawatomi, closely related to Ojibwe.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Potawatomi or their language.

Etymology

Origin of Potawatomi

First recorded in 1690–1700; from French Poutouatami, Pouteouatami, from Ojibwe po·te·wa·tami· “those who tend the hearth fire” (of the Council of Three Fires)

Example Sentences

A botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the author weaves ancient stories and a scientific perspective into a celebration of mutual tending and generosity.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 10, 2022

The Forest County Potawatomi is one of the Council's easternmost members, and it has embraced bison as a way to provide its people with a healthy source of protein.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2022

For example, his tribe, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, was forcibly relocated twice from its home in the Great Lakes region: first to Kansas, and then to Oklahoma.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 27, 2021

To take just one example, in 1838, the Potawatomi Indians were peacefully living in Indiana, south of Lake Michigan.

From Washington Post • Jul. 6, 2021

In 1809 Indiana’s territorial governor, William Henry Harrison, badgered and bribed a few destitute Delaware, Miami, and Potawatomi individuals to sign the Treaty of Fort Wayne.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz