Traditionally we are known as the Neshnabek [Man Sent Down From Above], a confederated nation comprised of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Bodéwadmi [Potawatomi]. Our confederacy is referred to as the Three Fires Council, recognizing that each tribe functions as brethren to serve the alliance as a whole. The Ojibwe, our eldest kinsmen, were first in igniting the flames of the …
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) describes the complex set of knowledge, practices and beliefs about the relationship that indigenous peoples have with the living and nonliving world around them (Berkes, 2003). It exists in societies that have a direct dependence on local resources. It is the intergenerational knowledge that develops from a long-term intimacy and attentiveness when people are materially and …
Games of Skill Neta Chikaswen [Games of Skill] are those in which the outcomes are determined by a player’s mental and physical abilities, rather than by chance. Traditional sports of this nature were and still are used by Potawatomi and other Native nations to build communal ties through leisure, celebrate and honor sacred and ceremonial events, cure the sick and …