Citizen Potawatomi
Originally, the Potawatomi lived around the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. They are members of the Algonquian language family and historically related to the Iroquois, Seneca, Ottawa, and Ojibwa.
Their social structure was quite complex. Villages were ruled by a chief who was responsible to a council of elders. The Potawatomi lived in bark-covered lodges or smaller dome-shaped wigwams constructed by bent poles. A lacrosse field was also an important consideration in village planning.
The men made birchbark canoes and the women made pottery. Tattooing was practiced by the men, and both men and women wore body paint. Fish, as well as deer, beechnuts, and maple syrup were prized foods for the Potawatomi.
Years of fighting eventually fractured the Potawatomi into small groups. Some of these groups traveled southwest into Kansas and Oklahoma. The Citizen Potawatomi are currently centered in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
About the Flag:
The symbols on the flag that are important to the Citizen Band of Potawatomi are a fire, a pipe, and a war club. The fire is representing their place as "Keepers of the Sacred Fire" for a three-tribe alliance in the 1600's.
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