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. Some followers believe 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.' Other tribal elders, including Michael Williams, told that Potawatomi originated at the mouth of the Grand River at its mouth at Lake Michigan or along the St.

Archaeologists say they migrated south from Ontario about 1,000 years ago. Some believe the Potawatomi originated as a people along the Atlantic coastline at the mouth of the St.

The tribe has been federally recognized since 1994 legislation affirmed its status it has established self-government. They were the only Potawatomi band to gain permission from the United States government to remain in Michigan after Indian removal in the 1830s. Joseph, Paw Paw and Kalamazoo rivers in what are now southwest Michigan and northern Indiana. The Pokagon are descendants of the residents of allied Potawatomi villages that were historically located along the St. They occupy reservation lands in a total of ten counties in the area. Tribal government functions are located in Dowagiac, Michigan. Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians ( Potawatomi: Pokégnek Bodéwadmik) are a federally recognized Potawatomi-speaking tribe based in southwestern Michigan and northeastern Indiana. 5,660 as of 2019 Ĭhristianity Roman Catholic, traditional tribal religion

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