Page 10 - 2015_Cabin Days curriculum booklet

First People to Live in St. Joseph County: the Potawatomi

The Potawatomi were one of the main Indian tribes to make their home in our area.
Their name means “people of the place of fire” or “we build fire” or “keepers of the fire.”
They were honored with the responsibility of keeping the ancestral fire burning. The
Potawatomi men were brave and hardy warriors, and their women were skilled at
creating artistic designs in willow basketry, weaving and beadwork.

The Potawatomi enjoyed playing several kinds of games. One game, called
“straws,” was played with bundles of reeds about as large as wheat straws and about six
inches long. Straws were separated into bundles of ten, except for one bundle that had
eleven. The person to draw the bundle of eleven got extra points. This game could
be played for hours or days at a time. Sometime players wagered their clothing or
beads.

The Potawatomi kept dogs, not as pets but as very bold and skillful hunters. The
dogs were required to find their own food. Often an unsuspecting missionary would
arrive at a Potawatomi village tired and hungry. The Potawatomi would offer a bowl of
food but the dogs would snatch it and eat it before the poor missionary knew what
happened. The missionary would go without food, but would be more careful at the
next meal.

The Potawatomi tribe lived peacefully along the banks of the St. Joseph River. As
more and more land was sold by the U.S. government, the Potawatomi were forced to
leave their homes, being pushed to less desirable land. In 1836, the first group of
Potawatomi, living peacefully near what is now Plymouth, Indiana, was forced to march
to an Indian reservation in Kansas. This first march took place in the intense heat of the
late summer. Many became ill with typhoid fever and died along the way. New graves,
often small ones of children, marked the trail, later called the Trail of Death. The
Potawatomi today are still active residents contributing to the community and
recognized by the U.S. government.