Until the 1840s, Potawatomi was spoken around Lake Michigan. It is currently spoken in Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Potawatomi is a member of the Central Algonquian branch of the Algic language family. The most closely related Algonquian language is Ojibwe, but as the result of contact, Potawatomi shares some linguistic features with Shawnee, Meskwaki, Kickapoo, Myaamia, Cree, and Menominee.
Selected Language Information
Gailland, Maurice. (nd). English-Potawatomi Dictionary. Jesuit Missouri Province Archives, Reel nos. 47-49. Jesuit Catalog nos. NA14, NA15 and NA21. Vatican Film Library, St. Louis University.
Gailland, Maurice. 1868. Grammar of the Potawatomi Language. Jesuit Missouri Province Archives, Reel no. 47, Jesuit Catalog no. NA11. Vatican Film Library, St. Louis University.
Hockett, Charles Francis. 1939. Potawatomi Syntax. Language. Vol. 15: 4. 235-248.
Hockett, Charles Francis. 1948a. Potawatomi I: Phonemics, Morphophonemics, and Morphological Survey. International Journal of American Linguistics. Vol. 14: 1. 1-10.
Hockett, Charles Francis. 1948b. Potawatomi II: Derivations. International Journal of American Linguistics. Vol. 14: 2. 63-73.
Hockett, Charles Francis. 1948c. Potawatomi III: The Verb Complex. International Journal of American Linguistics. Vol. 14: 3. 139-149.
Hockett, Charles Francis. 1948d. Potawatomi IV: Particles and Sample Texts. International Journal of American Linguistics. Vol. 14: 4. 213-225.
Hockett, Charles Francis. 1987. The Potawatomi Language: A Descriptive Grammar. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International.
Neely, Justin. 2010. Conversational Potawatomi. Shawnee, OK: Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
Sample Archival Materials in the Native American Languages Collection
Allen, Ellen (author), Harry Oliver (author). (n.d.). Potawatomi Language: Read and Color Book ― Grades 1-6. Akira and Kimiko Yamamoto Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: book. Catalog Number: AKY-475.
—–. (n.d.). Potowatomi Traditional Writing. Akira and Kimiko Yamamoto Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: book. Catalog Number: AKY-482.
—–. (n.d.). Potawatomi Phonetics. Akira and Kimiko Yamamoto Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: manuscript. Catalog Number: AKY-536.
Schlachtun, Randy(sponsor). 2013. Turtles Go To War/Mshike Migadiwat. Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: audio/video. Catalog Number: YLF-302.
Daffron, Chado (author). 2014. Ndabyan. Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: audio/video. Catalog Number: YLF-341.
Links
Citizen Potawatomi Nation – Language Resources
Hannahville Indian Community Department of Culture, Language and History
Catalogue of Endangered Languages
