Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1972. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--University of Kansas, 1965. / Bibliography: leaf 74.

This research seeks to understand the cultural revitalization of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Escaping and resisting pressures to remove, the Pokagon Band were able to remain within the confines of their homelands. Located in southwestern Michigan and northwestern Indiana, the Band is currently engaged in a revitalization process that seeks to facilitate contemporary innovations with traditional Potawatomi values. A multifaceted qualitative approach to the interpretation of data combines semi-structured contextual interviews and phenomenological interviews with citizens of the Pokagon Band. Phenomenological interviews were used to understand more about the experiences of tribal citizens at cultural events. The participants identified the homelands, family relationships, and understanding tradition as factors that sustain their interest in the cultural activities of the community. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Thesis--University of Kansas, 1965. / Bibliography: leaf 74.

This study is an examination of the cultural interaction that occurred between Native and European peoples in Illinois between 1795-1830. During this period many Native groups splintered into factions--nativists and accommodationists--that advocated opposing strategies for dealing with Euro-Americans. Nativists equated the use of Euro-American foodways and selected material culture items with a loss of traditional values while accommodationists adopted Euro-American faming methods, clothing styles, and foodways in an attempt to avoid removal west of the Mississippi River. Drawing upon historical and archaeological information recovered from Kickapoo and Potawatomi sites in Illinois, I argue that early nineteenth century nativist peoples in Illinois actively created and maintained a social identity expressed through continuity in Indigenous forms of subsistence, settlement, and artifact manufacture; the recycling of Euro-American metal artifacts into tools and ornaments that expressed a Native identity; and the use of selected Euro-American material culture items compatible with such an identity. Change did happen, but it occurred within a Native context and served Native needs.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Charles J. Barden / Due to health and nutritional disparities, prevalence of obesity and related diseases among American Indians is found to be higher than the U.S. general population. To promote a healthy lifestyle, the long term goal of this project is to increase fresh fruit and vegetable availability through gardening for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN) tribe in Kansas. In achieving this ultimate goal, two studies were conducted with the objectives of: 1) Evaluate the nutritional and behavioral health indicators for the residential population of the tribe and identify key constraints of gardening activity in the reservation; and 2) Conduct vegetable cultivar trials comparing different open pollinated (OP) and hybrid cultivars of tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum), pepper (Capsicum annum) and eggplant (Solanum melongena var. esculentum) to identify best yielding cultivars. Three surveys were conducted to assess the residential population with respect to gardening activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, health status, physical activity and socioeconomic status, using convenience samples. Cultivar trials comparing 6 pepper, 3 eggplant, and 5 tomato cultivars were conducted in 2012 and 2013 growing seasons. PBPN respondent group revealed significant health disparities compared to the general U.S. and Kansas populations. A higher proportion of this group was in poverty which had strong correlations with land ownership, gardening experience, and attendance to gardening workshops. “No knowledge” and “no space” were identified as key gardening constraints. Hybrid Jetstar was the best tomato cultivar identified, while Cherokee Purple was the best yielding OP cultivar. No difference in performance was observed among the three eggplant cultivars tested. Sweet pepper hybrids Flamingo and Alliance outperformed OP California Wonder which was moderate in production. OP chili pepper cultivars Anaheim 118 and hybrid Chili G76 outperformed hybrid Charger. Identified best yielding cultivars could be distributed among tribal members to support in-place gardening initiatives. Gardening limitations of “no land” and “no knowledge” could be mitigated by increasing participation at the community garden and attendance for gardening workshops. Strategic approaches should be implemented to attract people in poverty to engage in gardening and increase gardening activity in the reservation for nutritional, health and economic benefits.

This study explores the varied Citizen Potawatomi responses to federal assimilation and land policies from 1861 to 1891. The professed intention for these laws and treaties was to acculturate Native Americans into American society, but there was a clear ulterior motive to drastically reduce the land base of tribes in the West. The outcomes of policies that arranged for allotment and citizenship were mixed. The federal government successfully dispossessed the Citizen Potawatomi of large quantities of land and virtually every tribal member became a U.S. citizen, but few individuals became successful farmers or businessmen. The government's efforts also unintentionally resulted in fostering a stronger tribal identity and better tribal organization to argue for the collective and individual rights of Citizen Potawatomi tribal members. As the United States became embroiled in a devastating civil war and thousands of Americans flooded west in search of opportunity, the Citizen Potawatomi entered into a treaty agreement to allot their lands and become U.S. citizens. The Citizen Potawatomi treaty of 1861 forced tribal members to abandon the practice of holding land in common by stipulating that they must accept allotments and become U.S. citizens. Unintended consequences of the flaws in the government's plan were the near-complete loss of lands allotted to the Citizen Potawatomi, and a muddying of their legal status. Within a decade a large percentage of tribal members were landless and sought a new home in Indian Territory. By 1872 the Citizen Potawatomi better understood how to use non-Indian methods to fight for favorable allotments and full enfranchisement in the extralegal condition that characterized both their new home and themselves. Two decades later, when the federal government opened thousands of acres of Citizen Potawatomi lands to non-Indian settlement, tribal members had learned a painful, but strengthening lesson. To salvage a distinct tribal identity and political independence, the Citizen Potawatomi took command of their relationship with the federal government by demonstrating knowledge of the legislation that defined their legal rights and manipulating the inconsistent application of those policies. / text

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Indiana’s state park system developed as a result of state centennial celebrations in 1916. Government officials created state parks as a permanent memorial that glorified the Hoosier pioneer spirit, which celebrated actions of white colonists as they confronted challenges of the new industrial twentieth century. However, this memorialization erased the Lenni Lenape, Miami, Potawatomi, and Shawnee tribes played in the state’s history. This paper analyzes the Indiana statehood centennial celebrations as sites of erasure of Native American contributions to state and national history. It examines how Richard Lieber, the founder of the parks system, and others built the state park system to understand the ways individual state parks commemorated that Hoosier pioneer spirit at the expense of Native American voices. Turkey Run, McCormick’s Creek, Clifty Falls, Indiana Dunes, Pokagon, Spring Mill, and Lincoln State Parks are critiqued in this analysis to illustrate how each park encompasses and presents the story of colonization.