A prominent tribe of the Algonquian family, formerly inhabiting the lower end of Lake Michigan, around where Chicago now stands, and extending southward to the Wabash River and westward into central Illinois. These Indians were at one time associated with the Ottawa and Chippewa and all were grouped under the name "The Three Fires."
The Potawatomi were aligned with the French during early history and were with Pontiac at the siege of Detroit. In the War of 1812 they fought on the English side, and were the chief actors in the Fort Dearborn massacre at Chicago. In the form of Pottawatomie the name is applied to counties in Kansas and Oklahoma, and a town in Kansas; and as Pottawattamie, to a county in Iowa.
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[ Chippewa ][ Ottawa
][ Pontiac ][ Shabonee
]