Preserving Potawatomi, the Heart of a Nation
Technology and digital platforms help indigenous Potawatomi language and culture to persevere
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
Preserving Potawatomi
Although the Potawatomi language, Bodéwadmimwen, continues to flourish and spread to new segments of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN) population, the number of first language speakers continues to decrease.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
The CPN Language Department uses many online platforms to teach students of all ages how to speak Bodéwadmimwen. Digital tools have helped department employees approach public schools surrounding Tribal land to offer a course approved for world language credit in Oklahoma. They continue to expand with introductory courses for middle schools as well as collegiate material.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
Among them is Woolaroo, an experimental web-app where users can take a picture of common plants, animals, items and more to and see and hear the Potawatomi words for them played back to them. It features more than 900 Potawatomi words and phrases.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
Bodéwadmimwen and Potawatomi culture
Potawatomi culture is rooted in language and oral traditions of storytelling and exchanging knowledge. Lessons, thoughts and ideas, ceremonies, agricultural practices and more were passed along by word of mouth, with no written language.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
The words, phrases and verb conjugations all show and explain how the Potawatomi saw and continue to see the world with an emphasis on a connection to the earth, a high regard for mother nature and living beings, and a communal lifestyle.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
The language also expresses the values that take precedent for making decisions, both large and small: honesty, wisdom, love, humility, truth, bravery and respect.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
Many CPN tribal members feel language remains the thread that ties all Nishnabé culture together.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
A window into the Potawatomi world
Much of Bodéwadmimwen reveals what Potawatomi people prioritize. The déwégen, or drum, comes from the words dé (heart), wé (a sound) and gen (a thing) – or “the sound of a heartbeat.” Used in the most sacred ceremonies and biggest social occasions that bring
Potawatomi together, the Nishnabé describe the drum as “the heartbeat of the Nation.”
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
The Potawatomi people survived displacement several times in the mid to late-1800s. Originally from the Great Lakes region, the Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their homelands by the U.S. government to a reservation in present-day Kansas in the late 1830s.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
Named the Trail of Death, the devastating passage resulted in more than 40 Potawatomi losing their lives, mostly women and children.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
After two more treaties with the federal government in the 1860s, the Potawatomi then took allotments in Indian Territory, or present-day Oklahoma. The language and culture persisted despite generations of Potawatomi being taught by missionaries and attending Indian
boarding schools far away from their families.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
These forced removals and the era of Federal policy aimed at terminating Tribal Governments were a severe detriment to Potawatomi language and culture. The Nation has been adding resources to preserve the language and culture through online and in-person activities.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
The Tribe hosts the annual Family Reunion Festival each June. The weekend’s events culminate with the powwow, when the Nation honors ancestors and traditions through dancing, regalia and competitions.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
After the century-long diaspora experienced by the Potawatomi, the Nation’s members are spread out across the country. Many travel to Oklahoma each summer for the festival and powwow; however, CPN and its members have been using technology more to connect and learn – including to teach the language.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
During competitive dances, Tribal members often participate to honor someone else and consider their movement and the music a deep connection with the Creator and earth.
Dancing for Our Tribe (21st century) by Sharon HoogstratenCitizen Potawatomi Nation
The patterns, colors and shapes on regalia often represent that dancer’s family, clan or some other longstanding tradition passed from generation to generation. There might be certain animals or plants that hold special meaning, including many Eastern Woodlands floral designs as well as some foods or medicines.
Explore Potawatomi with Woolaroo
Woolaroo adds another innovative piece of interactive technology that Tribal members can use to learn Bodéwadmimwen and expose the rest of the world to an Indigenous peoples’ lifeways.
Explore Potawatomi language in the world around you today, with Woolaroo.
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