My Grandchildren

These are my grandchildren:  From left to right:  Luis "Hooty"Ortiz.  I've called him Hooty since he was a baby.  When he was young, there was a hurricane that hit the South called Luis.  We had no word for Hurricane in Potawatomi so I asked this Mexican guy how to say it in his language.  He said "uh duh kon" (sorry for butchering the words) and in time he became known as Hooty.  Hooty is a freshman at Royal Valley High School.

Nyeh was keh is my oldest grandson.  When he was a baby he cried a lot until he got his Indian name and then he calmed down a bunch.  They would play pow-wow songs for him and that calmed him down too.  Nyeh was a top dancer and when he was just a little guy, he would go dance for Maynard and Coraline his great grandparents.  They sure enjoyed watching him. His other grandfather, Troy, taught him how to lead stomp dances. He graduated from Kickapoo Nation School and is a singer with a good voice and is picking up the songs well.  He is working now but we want him to go to school somewhere and I'm sure he will in time. 

"Kek kah kweh" or Kek was born on the day the Oklahoma City bombing took place in 1995 so out of that came life.  She had the most hair I ever saw on a baby and she was such a fragile baby.  Now she is a freshman at Royal Valley High School and has no interest in sports but she helps by being a manager on the baskeball teams.  I never pushed our kids and always left it up to them in this regard.  She volunteers for everything and is a licensed babysitter.  Kek won an award for her "Native Youth Outstanding Volunteer Work for the Health Initative Program 2009.'

I have wrote about my oldest granddaughter Tara on several occasions.  She was a top-of-the-line basketball player who accomplished a lot.  I'm proud of what she did and getting all those all-league awards was something I could never do, so she made up for that.  Now she is in sunny California where her husband is in the United States Marine Corp, and she will someday migrate back toward the middle of the country. She also does some outstanding beadwork.  Tara and her Mom work at this constantly and do some really good work.  Beading is still done here and something we haven't had to outsource to China yet.

The guy on the far right is "Pat ko shuk" and he is my youngest grandson but I call him "my boy."  I teach him prayer words, the words I learned from my mother, father-in-law and my aunt.  I feel so good to hear him learn so quickly.  He prays every night before we go to bed and I told him last night "your grandma Alberta would have felt so good to hear you pray" and she would have, but he can sure be a bad boy at times. too.  He is 9 years old.

I'm so thankful I lived this long to see my grandchildren get to this stage of life.

Jerry Tuckwin, teacher, mentor, coach

Nothing seems simple growing up on an Indian reservation as Jerry Tuckwin's early life experiences will show.

His parents, Louis and Elizabeth Tuckwin lived on the reservation for many years. They raised ten children, including Jerry who was born February 14, 1942 on a cold, windy, snowy night. The family eventually moved to nearby Mayetta, but eight months later a tragedy changed the Tuckwin family's life's forever.

Louis Tuckwin had grown tired of cutting wood for many years so he bought a new kerosene stove, but one day while lighting the new contraption, it blew up. The subsequent fire burned up both Lewis and Elizabeth Tuckwin, along with their daughter Patty. It could have been far worse if Jerry's brother, Brub (Lyle), and sister, Moke (Mercedes) hadn't got Jerry and his brother, Tom, out of the house. April 23, 1949 proved to be a devastating time for the Tuckwin family.

Out of this adversity, the remaining family did everything they could to stay together and make it as a family. For instance, Jerry's older brothers Paul and Mitch, worked for local farmers, his brother Brub went to high school in Delia, two older sisters went to Marty Indian School in South Dakota where Jerry would soon follow. They eventually moved in with Mage and Jane Puckee.

One day his sister Moke and Floyd “Pink” Patterson drove him to Marty Indian School. They stopped and had a chicken dinner, Jerry recalled, and he thought it was all fun. After arriving in South Dakota, Pink Patterson gave him a silver dollar, and he went to a movie at the school. After the movie was over, both of his relatives were gone. He again was devastated. A lonely, empty feeling came over seven-year old Jerry, but he had no choice but to adjust to the new environment. Sometimes adjustment meant taking his fair share of corporal punishment, a typical experience for an Indian at a boarding school.

That Christmas, his brother Mitch, Mage and Jane Puckee came to visit him. What they saw disturbed them. Jerry was in a raggedy condition. Mitch said to the school officials, "We sent him a winter coat and where is it?" They answered that they didn't want one kid to have more than another. Mitch angrily told them that it was wrong to treat kids like animals and promptly loaded Jerry up in their vehicle and took him home. Jerry recalled staying at a hotel in Yankton, South Dakota on the way home where he was able to clean up.

Jerry remembers the positive influence Mage Puckee had on his life. Mage was a teacher at one of the one-room school houses on the reservation and would make Jerry read, Newsweek and, tell him what he remembered from his reading. Jerry said at the age of nine he had made up his mind that he would follow in the teaching steps of this man. Later this was reinforced by another teacher, Tony Coffin. Another factor in his teaching ambition was watching how hard his brothers had to work and how their hands were split and bruised. Jerry decided there was something else out there, which for him was teaching.

Both Mage and Jane Puckee told Jerry how important it was to put his mind, heart and intelligence into everything he did and only then would it be possible to accomplish something in his life. They implored him to get an education because with an education he had choices without it he would only be able to settle for far less.They not only taught him the value of learning and the possibilities of an education, but instilled the importance of religion in his life. His Aunt Jane told him over and over that if he had faith and spirituality in his life he would have everything. She also stressed to him how important it was to respect all religions. Jerry remembered those words many times in future days and years.

After going to school locally, Jerry went to Haskell, when it was a high school at age 14. It was hard for Jerry, then because he didn't weigh very much, which, led to other students picking on him that caused confrontations. Despite this, he made straight A's, and, settled into a fairly consistent pattern with school for nine months and going home in the summer to work for local farmers. He graduated from Haskell.

From there, Jerry went to the University of Wichita (called Wichita State today) on a track scholarship. His room, board and books were paid for by scholarship, but he had to pay for his meals. Back then, Jerry didn't have financial assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Tribe, but because of his summer earnings, he was able to eat. His first year in college was one of personal turmoil. Jerry thought people were prejudiced toward him, but after a time he realized it wasn't true. Once again, he came to terms with those difficult feelings and adjusted as so many times in the past. Jerry said college was a great learning experience. He graduated in 1964. A man named Tommy Ward from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Anadarko, Oklahoma sent him $100 in his last year, which helped him buy his cap and gown. This was the only assistance he received during his college days. He had made it on his own.

Jerry said there were 28 relatives who came to his graduation. Jerry said one person who didn't make it was Bud Onzawah. Jerry had fond memories of Bud. When he was a young boy, Bud would bring milk, eggs and a loaf of bread to his house and Jerry really wanted him at this graduation that year because of this positive experience from his youth.

For a time, he taught at Desoto Public Schools and Haskell Institute where he coached men's basketball. Jerry enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1966. He was stationed at San Antonio, Texas; Champaign, Illinois; Tucson, Arizona and went to Vietnam in 1968. Jerry also married the former Terry Maupin during the early part of his military career. She proved to be an anchor during hard times for him then and now.

While in Vietnam, he served in a reconnaissance unit and was amazed at the capabilities of the pilots and their planes when they went out on patrol. On these trips, the pilots were able to take pictures of enemy movements and bases. The technology was so advanced that they could take a picture of dog tag on a soldier from afar.

Jerry said one day at Bien Hoa Air Base the white soldiers hollered at him "Hey Chief Tuckwin there's a Potawatomi chief here to see you," and Curtis Masquat, Jr. walked up. They got to spend an afternoon together visiting. Curtis Paul was in the U.S. Army and this visit gave him time to clean up and go to the mess hall where he wanted to drink milk. He had read that Jerry was there from a Haskell paper. Soon after, Curtis left to go back to his unit, but for a brief time he was able to visit with a fellow Potawatomi in a far off land. But not all times were so positive. One night around 2 a.m. a rocket attack hit their base. The initial attack and its force pinned Jerry up against a wall, and he could hear the other men crying and screaming. There was fire, and it seemed like his life flashed before him. Jerry was to see his brothers and sisters again, but he made up his mind that he wasn't going to die in that fire like his family had many years before. He prayed to God to show him the way and was able to get to a bunker 50 yards away. He left the military in July of 1970.

Jerry went back to Haskell in August of 1970 and stayed there for 32 years. He enjoyed coaching, assisting with the development of students and athletes and seeing them mature physically, socially and intellectually. It was rewarding to be around Indian people who could laugh even in the most troubling times. He said they had a more relaxed approach to life and appreciated the little things of life.

There were disappointments, too. He saw many with so much talent and potential but for some reason or another didn't realize it. Maybe some lacked desire, or maybe there were extenuating circumstances and some had to go home and work and to support their families. It bothered him to see such talent go to waste.
During his long teaching and coaching careers, Jerry received many awards, but he saw himself as a little person who didn't need headlines and only wanted to help others find a better way. His advice to young people over the years was to work hard enough to achieve something and then work harder. If something fails, go back to the basics, because people can do more if they try harder.

His lessons didn't stop with students at Haskell he had to learn some from within. In the summer of 2005 Jerry lost an invaluable asset to his life. Jane Puckee died that summer. She was a woman who was fluent in the Potawatomi language (her Indian name was "Ah no mo kweh" - a name that once belonged to her grandmother). Despite her 96 years, she stayed extremely alert and could recall Indian names and stories from long ago. It was a traumatic time again for Jerry. This woman was a stabilizing force in his life, and now she was gone.

A week later, it was a hot 90 degree day, but Jerry still played nine holes of golf and came home tired and not feeling right. In times such as these events happen fast, and before he knew it he fell to the floor. His wife Terry called 911 and administered CPR until the ambulance got there four minutes later. They pronounced him dead at one point, but experts helped to jolt him back into this world. Jerry was semi-conscious for three days. When he awoke, the recovery process was hard. Before his heart attack, Jerry did everything on his own. Now, he had to depend on his wife, Terry, for help in doing even the simple things in life. It was a time of total dependence - something Jerry had never experienced before. It was a time to overcome adversity again.

He often wondered why God had spared his life and is still trying to figure that out. Jerry thought that it was meant for him to spend more time with his wife, his children Shannon and John and his four grandchildren. As so many times in his life, Jerry once again depended on his faith and a belief in God and prayer has worked in his recovery process. Jerry Tuckwin deserves more time to contribute to the lives of Indian people. His life serves as an example of great triumph and grace in times of great adversity.

Basketball on the rez

One of the best things that can happen to grandparents is to see grandchildren develop in the athletic arena, especially when sports have been so much a part of their own lives. Age and aching bones might have stopped their enjoyment and progress on the courts and softball fields, but competitive juices refuse to go away for many parents, grandparents and great grandparents. To see it carried on in grandchildren is a truly rewarding time.


In our case, we played softball for years then that slacked up in time. Our oldest daughter took up fast-pitch and she really worked at it and turned into a top pitcher. We hauled her to games all over Northeast Kansas and Missouri. She won a state championship while playing at Lake Shawnee and she went on to play for one year at Highland Junior College where she set records for wins and strikeouts.

And much later youth basketball started to gain popularity on the Potawatomi reservation and our grandchildren took up the sport although we would have sooner they played softball. But the basketball fever spread to the old folks as well. Our oldest granddaughter Tara was a starter on the Royal Valley High School team for three years. She started out slow but made tremendous progress. In one game, she had 23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists. At 5'9", she was tall for a guard and had quick hands. In another game, she scored 35 points against Nemaha Valley and that’s the most points I ever witnessed from a girl or a boy at the high school level. She ended up first team all-league for her last two years.

The stands suddenly become a big social event and visiting was on the upsurge. Relatives of the players marked their calendars and load up their cars to see the basketball games. We did the same thing as with our daughter, we went to almost every game no matter where it was at. Our grandson Nyeh Waskeh played in high school and sometimes it was a challenge but we made most of his games too. Nyeh Washeh enjoyed playing basketball with his many friends and scored a high of 17 points. We watched them both develop, learning the fundamentals and they enjoyed playing the game. High school basketball is a level where fun is still there. A $4 entry fee to see your grandchildren play is more than worth it.

Our routine was similar every week. We went to work, came home, change into comfortable clothes and loaded up Maynard Potts, who at the time was 90 years old, and whoever else was riding on that particular day, and head off to Royal Valley High School games. He enjoyed watching Tara and Nyeh play basketball – a real fan. After paying the entry fee and eating the ball-game meal of hot dogs and popcorn, we sat in the stands and wait for the game to start. The only regret is that there weren’t more food choices at games. It was good times though.

Tara and Nyeh both graduated from high school. Tara went on to two years of junior college where it was no longer fun and she eventually married and moved away to California. Now we go to our youngest grandson, Pat ko shuk’s basketball games at the Whitson Elementary School on Saturday mornings. I about jumped off the bleachers when he scored his first two points. It was the same feeling I had watching my daughter and my other grandchildren play, a feeling that I can’t explain but I’m glad I was there. The whole experience is something I wouldn’t trade for anything.



.

A chance to repay Indian people

Venita Chenault-White, a member of of our tribe struggled with career choices as she neared completing a M.S.W. in Social Work in 1990.

Deep down she wanted to teach and give something back to Indian people, but figured landing a teaching position would take a few years so she went to work at a substance abuse center in Kansas City. A year later an unexpected call came from Haskell Indian Junior College that launched Chenault-Whites teaching career. The school was in the midst of revitalizing their social work program and would soon undergo a name change to Haskell All Nations University. Attendance at the largest Indian university in the United States averages 850 students per semester, representing 140 Indian nations and 40 states.

Making that career change was not easy since she had some trepidation about working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs - an agency with a long history of working against the interests of Indian people - but an older uncle said,

“You can stand outside these institutions but changes to the system must come from the inside.” Chenault-White took his advice and has had an interesting and rewarding teaching experience.

“I feel like I have made a change in the system by preparing Indian students to go back into their communities to make a positive impact.” And most of all, it was a chance to repay the Indian people for their many cultural teachings over the years. She has incorporated these teachings into her classes when it is appropriate.

“Indian people share a core philosophy - a respect for the Creator and a recognition that we are all related,” said Chenault-White. Chenault-White also states that learning and teaching can come from many sources including young people. “I have a chance to learn from the richness of each of their cultures.”

In her classes, Chenault-White integrates knowledge developed by Indian scholars and Indian methods developed in Indian communities. She has a strong belief that the solution to Indian problems lie within these teachings. It is disheartening, for Chenault-White, to see many of her students disconnected from their cultures and sometimes in a state of hopelessness, but she has faith in each one of her students and can see unlimited potential. Chenault-White disagrees with the prevailing “wisdom” of many high school teachers who have said or shown in their actions that little needs to be done to prepare Indian students for college because they aren’t going anywhere.

This practice hurts the Indian college student and in turn the Indian communities. Chenault-White wants to change those perceptions by showing students she cares. Did she make the right career choice? Although some people discouraged her from going into the social work field, Chenault-White relied on her convictions.

“It’s important to do what you want in life.”

A Potawatomi Journey to Iraq

For Curtis Keltner, a 23 year old tribal member, son of Roberta Keltner and grandson of Theresa Asselin, arriving in Iraq was a true cultural shock and living in a war situation for a year only added to the shock.


People in the hometown of Saddam Hussien, Tikrit, were considered loyalist of his regime. Hussein moved to Baghdad after rising to the presidency of Iraq but made sure his old home was taken care of and the town composition was mostly friends of his and relatives. It was evident to Keltner why the people there hated the United States Army. Iraqi’s believed in Jihaad and the concept of a Holy War. By killing non-Muslims or die trying then this act ensured a place in heaven, which is why there were so many acts of sucide toward the United States military during Keltner’s year there.

Keltner said the people were poor, lived in mud huts, and had no running water. The children were nice and walked up to the soldiers and shook hands but would always ask for a dollar. Seeing these poverty conditions in an oil rich country such as Iraq made Keltner wonder why it worked that way. In the country of Iraq each town had a sheik, a millionaire who lived in big houses or mansions. He was considered the town leader and the title of sheik passed from one generation to another. Money equaled power in Iraq.

Before Keltner went to Iraq in March of 2003, the military instructed the soldiers in classes not to look at the Iraqi women because that would cause unnecessary grief for the women. The women were obedient to the men and worked in back-breaking jobs in the fields. The married women dressed in black robes from head to toe. The men in Iraq were allowed to have up to six wives, but only if they could afford them. Women in Iraq society are considered property. A man had to pay the father of a woman money or in a number of sheep, basically buying his daughter. The people of Iraq consumed no alcohol or ate pork and would pray up to five times a day. At certain times of the day, music would come from the local mosque and the people would stop whatever they were doing and fall to their knees toward Mecca and prayed.

What brought Curtis Keltner to this oil-rich but desolate and poor country? He described it as a love of country and life growing up listening to many military stories from his dad, who served 13 years in the army, and from his mother’s side. All of these childhood stories made Keltner determined to follow in his relatives’ footsteps and joining the army seemed the right thing to do for him.

Arriving in Iraq during the hot season where temperatures rose to 140 degrees only added to the initial cultural shock. These feelings of pity toward the poverty conditions soon dissipated when his Alpha Company were fired upon in their daily patrols around Tikrit.

Instinct and all the intensive military training kicked in during these attacks. The attacks were mostly guerrilla tactics where 2 or 3 Iraqi would fire upon the Americans and then run away. That’s the way they fought said Keltner It turned into a waste of time when his unit would have to go search for the attackers. Keltner said nothing happened 90% of the time on these daily patrols then out of nowhere an attack would happen when they least expected it. It was only afterwards, that they thought “Oh my God, I could have died.”  He described the soldiers in his Alpha Company as good people who saved his life on more than one occasion with their courage. “They had your back and you had theirs” as Keltner described it.

Keltners message today is: even if you don’t support American war policies at least support the troops because they are doing it for their country.

An old Potawatomi veteran's story

As with most obituaries, most of a person’s life is left out for reasons of space and cost, and this is true with the Maynard’s Potts obituary. Here is an account of what could have been included if we lived in a perfect world.

  He was part of what Tom Brokaw called the “greatest generation.” Brokaw said they survived the Depression; served the country during World War II; and become involved in their communities as volunteers, elected officials or church leaders.
  Maynard did exactly that. During the Great Depression, years of hardship had taught him and the people on the reservation to depend on important survival skills, such as an ability to improvise. Not to be overlooked were a few welcome federal work programs that became the key to managing in a severe economic period of this country.
  How did Maynard and the Potawatomi people weather these hard times? They only had to look to the no-so-distant past and remember the removal period still fresh in the minds of many elders by virtue of tribal stories preserved by the oral history tradition. The lessons of the past would help the Potawatomi overcome adversity. Inner strength and character would help the people on the reservation cope with the trauma of the times. Yes, adversity has a way of building character, but it also prepared men like Maynard and many others who would serve in the upcoming war. Surviving the Great Depression was just one chapter in his life and it did a fair job of preparing him for the next huge event in his life.
  His ascent into World War II started when he left the United States from San Francisco January 23, 1943, aboard the troop transport Nordom. As they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge, a man in the back of the boat shouted, “Golden Gate, Golden Gate, be back in ‘48.” Of course, the war didn’t last that long, but it seemed like an eternity for these young men. The troop transport traveled one month and one day to get to the war zone in New Guinea, a tropical island in the Pacific north of Australia. The unit aboard the 532nd Amphibian was attached to the Ninth Division of the Australian Army which had just returned from two to three years of combat in Africa.
  It was because of the bravery of the Australians on several occasions that Maynard was able to survive the war. They were ready to fight under any circumstances and showed no fear. In April 1943, the American unit went to Milne Bay, New Guinea. During the first two weeks of which they went through 118 bombings by the Japanese. The bombing started at six a.m. and ended 20 hours later at two a.m. Because of the lack of air support, many Americans died during those initial days.

  After the Allies finally wrested New Guinea from Japanese control in March 1944, Maynard boarded a boat to the Philippines in what was called “island hopping,” or seizing key islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean. With this strategy, the Allies used each island as a springboard to attack the next island. The Philippines had been under Japanese control since May of 1942, and the Allies hoped to recapture it, cut off Japan’s lines of communication with its overseas bases, and set up bases from which to attack Japan.
  While on this first “island hopping” boat ride, Maynard saw Japanese suicide planes take out three American ships one day and seven ships the next. Many Americans died there. It was hard to be at sea or on land because no place was safe. Throughout the war, Maynard was to see men wounded and killed, and he was to experience countless nerve- wracking bombings. But the hardest part was the fear and never knowing what would happen next.
  His life after the war was far from easy. He struggled with the aftermath and as is the case with many combat veterans, their actions are never fully understood and for some people who could never fathom the scars of war, it is simply too easy to judge. Today it is called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but back then, veterans had to deal with it the best they could.
  For Maynard Potts, there are more accomplishments in his life, although being a combat veteran would have defined his life by itself; there is more to his life than that. Again those accomplishments never make an obituary. Maynard and Coralene Keesis married October 2, 1942 and raised a large family in definite hard times. To cope with those hard times and the nightmares of war, one of the constants in both their lives was their absolute dedication to the Indian religion of the Potawatomi. She cooked at home and at the services themselves. As she once said, “being a member of the religion involves more than sitting there looking pretty,” and she was right. There is so much work to be done and it has to be shared by all to make any religion work.
  For years, Maynard went over to the Drum Building and cleaned it up before the services or went out and cut wood. As a respected elder, he didn’t have to do that but he did. Both he and Coralene led a long life and will be remembered for their work to make the Potawatomi religious life better. Maynard had a gift and that was the ability to sing the songs of the religion; he worked tirelessly with younger members to learn the songs and help others learn the Potawatomi language. Maynard once said that when he survived the war, he was going to dedicate his life to his mother’s religion and he did.
  Maynard made a point to attend every religious service he could on the reservation, rarely missing until he became sick in the winter of 2007-8. That is called dedication in any circle. He believed in the power of prayer and when he was close to leaving this life a couple of times during his hospital stay, his family held had a prayer service for him. He pulled through those two critical times. The power of prayer made it possible for him to stay with his family for a few more precious days.
  He also had an extraordinary memory and told of events long ago and could remember so many Indian names. Many young people, and some not so young, would find their way to his door to seek out advice on religion, Indian names and maybe to hear the stories of old. Hopefully people will remember what he told them.
  When he died in April of 2008, after surviving 92 winters, Maynard had one of the largest funerals ever on the Potawatomi reservation. The Drum Building was full with people paying their respects to a man who helped others aplenty in his life. During this service, many positive words were spoken about his life-long dedication to the religion and it was all true. During some funerals, it is rare for people to get up and talk to share their feelings, but not this time. This was an indicator of the influence Maynard Potts had on the people of the Potawatomi reservation. He deserved the positive service.
  It wasn’t all serious though. Maynard was remembered for his baseball abilities, being a number one fan of the local fast-pitch teams, and to see his granddaughter Tara play basketball in high school and her first year in college. Because of inclement weather, he missed the biggest scoring game of her high school days, when she scored 35 points against Nemaha High School. Nonetheless, he enjoyed going to the rest of the games.
  Maynard was the Number One fan of Kansas University Basketball. He stayed home and watched every one of those game on t.v. When they weren’t on, he watched baseball on ESPN. He often talked about the young Winnebago pitcher Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees and the Navajo infielder named Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox.
  Maynard died a few days before KU beat Memphis 75-68 in the National Championship game. In fact, the wake occurred at the same time as the big game. The large crowd at the wake were huge KU fans too, but they went to the funeral instead of watching the game on t.v. This showed the deep respect Maynard had in this community. Of course, that didn’t prevent people from checking their cell phones for updates when they went outside. He would want it that way and everybody knew he was keeping up on that score too.
  All in all, Maynard and Coraline left a legacy that their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren can be proud of and an example to follow. For the rest of the people on the reservation neither will be forgotten.

The Story of the Three Fires

Potawatomi tradition states that the Odawa, Ojibwas, and the Potawatomi originally were one tribe. The members of the “three fires” shared a similar way of life. They were also called the “three brothers,” with the Potawatomis being considered the younger brother.


A Potawatomi legend said the tribes braided three small trees together to signify their brotherhood. It is said that this tree has grown together over the years and is full-grown today in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Loyalties between the three tribes ran deep, and they often came to each other’s defense in times of war, much like a brother would come to aid of another in a fight. So it is with the history that this coalition was solidified over the early years. Coalitions such as this were to become an essential element to the tribe’s social fabric throughout the early years and were to serve the tribe well in those times. In the years of prolonged conflict, territorial expansion and other common goals of advancement, these coalitions were absolutely necessary and utilized heavily to their benefit.

Still another aspect of this coalition was that the Potawatomi, Odawa, Ojibwas enjoyed a particularly close trade relationship. Each tribe had a certain function to keep the alliance strong. The Odawa were the “Trader People” responsible for providing food and supplies. The Ojibwas were the keepers of the faith and kept the sacred teachings. The Potawatomi were in charge of the ceremonial fire burning. It was around this fire that nations came together in peace and made decisions regarding the welfare of all people.

All three groups spoke related languages that linguists classify as part of the Algonquin tongues. It was said this language could carry an Indian traveler across more than a thousand miles of land from east to the west in the Great Lakes, and they could understand the other tribes enough to get by and to manage.

In time, the coalition with the Odawa and Ojibwas ended when the Potawatomi went out on their own and built a new “fire,” which in Indian parlance means to set up as an independent tribe. The Potawatomi (People of the Place of the Fire) may thus owe their name to these circumstances. Yet remnants of the tribes had interwoven over the years, which is why the tribes still retain much of the same characteristics and language today, despite being located in vastly different locations.