Potawatomi Nation Historical Territory and Treaty Context

The Potawatomi called themselves Bo-De-Wad-Me — "keeper of the fire." They held the shores of Green Bay when Europeans first arrived. Today, Potawatomi State Park in southern Door County carries their name. The strait those early French explorers called Porte des Morts — Death's Door, the passage that named this county — was already storied ground long before anyone started keeping written records.