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*** Pokagon Potawatomi ***
[Pokegnek Bodewadmik]


Pokagon Band of Potawatomi {Anishinaabek} Indians are a federally recognized Algonquian-speaking Potawatomi-people located in southwestern Michigan and northwestern Indiana. Tribal government functions are located in Dowagiac, Michigan. The tribal membership has grown to approximately 4,563 members as of 2009. They occupy land in a total of ten counties in the area.

The Potawatomi originated as a people along the Atlantic coastline at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Over centuries, along with the Ojibwe and Odawa Anishinaabe peoples, they migrated west to the Great Lakes region some 500?800 years ago in a "Great Migration." They are of many different Aboriginal people from North America to South America.

The Pokagon are descendants of the residents of allied Potawatomi villages that were historically located along the St. Joseph, Paw Paw and Kalamazoo rivers in what are now southwest Michigan and northern Indiana. They were the only Potawatomi band to gain permission from the United States government to remain in Michigan after Indian removal. Many of the cities and streets in the Michigan area have adopted Potawatomi names. The tribe has been federally recognized since 1994 and has established self-government.


History
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians were party to 11 treaties with the federal government, with the major land cession being under the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. During the Indian removals, many Potawatomi bands were moved west. But, Chief Leopold Pokagon negotiated to keep his Potawatomi band of 280 people in southwestern Michigan. They were the only Potawatomi band who did not go through removal west of the Mississippi River.

Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the Pokagon Band wanted to restore their self-government and requested recognition as a tribe by the Department of the Interior, but were denied. After years of petitioning, the Pokagon Band regained recognition in 1994.


Contemporary
As a federally recognized tribe, the Pokagon Band were able to develop and open in 2007 the Four Winds Casino Resort on the Pokagon Reservation, in New Buffalo Township, near New Buffalo, Michigan, in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and a compact with Michigan. It expanded in 2011 due to its success. The Chicago Tribune reported that if the casino were on the Las Vegas Strip, it would be the second largest there. Architecturally the casino's rotunda is built in the style of the Potawatomi people's traditional lodges. A second, satellite casino, Four Winds Hartford, opened on August 30, 2011, and a third, Four Winds Dowagiac, opened April 30, 2013. The band has been limited to three casinos by its 2008 compact with the state.

The tribe has also built some needed housing. Its newest project will be a community center. In a competition for federal stimulus funds, the Pokagon were granted $2 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to build a planned community center at their tribal center in Dowagiac. The 8500-square foot building has been designed to satisfy Silver LEED standards, and incorporates a number of innovations to reduce its energy use and create a sustainable building: including a green roof, thick concrete flooring to act as a heat sink, windows to the south to gain winter sun and heat, and geothermal systems.

The tribe announced plans in 2012 to build a 164-acre "tribal village" in South Bend, Indiana, including housing, healthcare, and government facilities, and a casino and hotel.

Only a decreasing number of elders among the Potawatomi bands speak the language, but the Pokagon are participating in a program to restore teaching and use of the language.


Gaming Commission
The Tribe established the Pokagon Band Gaming Commission in 2007 as an independent subdivision. The Gaming Commission regulates all gaming conducted within Pokagon Band jurisdiction under the Gaming Regulatory Act, the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and the tribal-state Gaming Compact between the Band and the State of Michigan.

The Pokagon Potawatomi tribal 3 casinos, Four Winds Casino Resort is located near New Buffalo, MI and one Four Winds 2 casino is located just west of Hartford, MI. And Four Winds casino Dowagiac, MI


Cleck out: Four Winds casinos





Chief Leopold Pokagon

1775 - 1841





Chief Simon Pokagon



Simon Pokagon son of Chief Leopold Pokagon



Indigenous Native American Prophecy
Elders Speak part 1


Indigenous Native American Prophecy
Elders Speak part 2


Indigenous Native American Prophecy
Elders Speak part 3





Grand Entry
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Pow wow 2012





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