Spring Break
Pokagon Band part of ND history, land
Relationship with Potawatomi tribe celebrated during Native American Heritage Month
Katie Peralta
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 3 next >
While driving around South Bend, students might notice Potawatomi Park, Potawatomi Zoo and Pokagon Street - places all named after former residents of the area, the Potawatomi American Indian tribe and its local division, the Pokagon Band.
But not all passers-by may be aware that the land upon which Notre Dame was built once belonged to the Pokagon Band.
As a part of Native American Heritage Month, Notre Dame's Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS) will host a series of events bringing members of the Potawatomi tribe to campus to relay the history between the tribe and the University. As part of this series, MSPS will host a dinner Dec. 4 featuring members of the Potawatomi tribe to share their history.
Before Notre Dame founder Father Edward Sorin claimed this plot of land on Nov. 26, 1842, the land had been inhabited by the Pokagon Band, said Kevin Daugherty, educational resource developer for the Pokagon Band.
The Chicago Treaty of 1833, however, ordered the removal of Indians in the northern Indiana region, Daugherty said. Leopold Pokagon, a prominent Potawatomi leader and the spokesperson after whom the Pokagon Band is named, negotiated the right to stay on the land and was given a sum of money, Daugherty said. Pokagon used this money to buy land northwest of modern-day Dowagiac, Mich., where Daugherty said many members of the band still reside today.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Potawatomi land stretched from what is now Chicago to Detroit, Daugherty said.
Many different villages populated this region and considered themselves Potawatomi, sharing a common language and culture. Such villages had alliances but operated independently on a local level.
The Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians resided in the southwest Michigan and northern Indiana region, including the grounds where campus is now.
"They of course moved around a bit," Daugherty said. "They moved along the St. Joseph River to farm, hunt and gather."
But not all passers-by may be aware that the land upon which Notre Dame was built once belonged to the Pokagon Band.
As a part of Native American Heritage Month, Notre Dame's Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS) will host a series of events bringing members of the Potawatomi tribe to campus to relay the history between the tribe and the University. As part of this series, MSPS will host a dinner Dec. 4 featuring members of the Potawatomi tribe to share their history.
Before Notre Dame founder Father Edward Sorin claimed this plot of land on Nov. 26, 1842, the land had been inhabited by the Pokagon Band, said Kevin Daugherty, educational resource developer for the Pokagon Band.
The Chicago Treaty of 1833, however, ordered the removal of Indians in the northern Indiana region, Daugherty said. Leopold Pokagon, a prominent Potawatomi leader and the spokesperson after whom the Pokagon Band is named, negotiated the right to stay on the land and was given a sum of money, Daugherty said. Pokagon used this money to buy land northwest of modern-day Dowagiac, Mich., where Daugherty said many members of the band still reside today.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Potawatomi land stretched from what is now Chicago to Detroit, Daugherty said.
Many different villages populated this region and considered themselves Potawatomi, sharing a common language and culture. Such villages had alliances but operated independently on a local level.
The Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians resided in the southwest Michigan and northern Indiana region, including the grounds where campus is now.
"They of course moved around a bit," Daugherty said. "They moved along the St. Joseph River to farm, hunt and gather."