Tecumseh and a group of warriors, including Potawatomi, played a key role in the War of 1812.
The Potawatomi and Chippewa, along with the Ottawa were an Algonquin group who once constituted a single tribe.
The initial treaties signed by the Potawatomi following the war made peace and forgave past grievances.
During the 1830 removal to Kansas and Iowa, several bands of Potawatomi escaped to Canada.
By this time, the Potawatomi had joined forces with the British, their former enemy.
By the end of the twentieth century, Potawatomi descendants had scattered throughout the United States and Canada.
Every band of the Potawatomi has been successfully reviving their language (an Algonquian tongue) and cultural traditions.
By 1716 most Potawatomi villages were scattered throughout the area from Milwaukee to Detroit.
During this period the Mission Band Potawatomi were forced to leave their homelands in the Wabash River Valley of Indiana.
The Mission Band took U.S. citizenship, became known as the “Citizen Potawatomi,” and the majority of them moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) by the early 1870s.
Soon the French built Fort Pontchartrain at Detroit (1701) and groups of Potawatomi settled nearby.
The Potawatomi, Oto, and Missouri Indians had left Iowa by 1830, while the Sauk and Mesquaki remained in the Iowa region until 1845.
At the beginning of the century, Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, and his brother—most commonly known as "The Prophet"—garnered the support of the Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Sauk, Fox, and Winnebago.
During the French and Indian War, the Potawatomi were French allies against the common English enemy.
Potawatomi, meaning "Keepers of the fire" or "People of the place of the fire" is believed to be an old Chippewa (or Ojibwe) term—"potawatomink"—applied to the group for their role in the tribal council.
The Potawatomi have long been known for their entrepreneurial skills as well as foresight in relationships.
The Potawatomi was one of the earliest tribes to intermarry, first with the French and then with the English.
The Potawatomi (also spelled Pottawatomie or Pottawatomi) are a Native American people originally of the Great Lakes region.
The Potawatomi, however, were more fortunate, because their villages were located on the Door Peninsula jutting out into Lake Michigan, which had some of the best soil in the area.
Soon the Potawatomi controlled over 5 million acres encompassing the present-day states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and a small portion of Ohio.
The role the Potawatomi played was to retain the original council fire, hence the name.
By 1800, tribal villages were displaced by white settlements and pushed farther and farther to the outskirts of the Potawatomi tribal estate.
Early historic records confirm that the Potawatomi were living in present-day Michigan and had established an autonomous tribe as early as the 1500s.
Attempting to avoid the battles, the Potawatomi moved northward into Wisconsin.