A NOTE ON THE TREATMENT OF INDIGENOUS
LANGUAGE
The Potawatomi and Anishinaabe languages are a reflection of the
land and the people. They are a living, oral tradition, which had not
been written down in their long history until fairly recently. A number
of writing systems have emerged to try and capture the language in
regularized orthography, but there is no firm agreement on the
preeminence of any one among the many variants of a large and
living language. Potawatomi elder, fluent speaker, and teacher
Stewart King has kindly sorted through my rudimentary use of the
language, confirming meanings and advising on consistency in
spelling and usage. I am most appreciative for his guidance in my
understanding of language and culture. The Fiero system’s double
vowel orthography for writing the language has been widely
adopted by many Anishinaabe speakers. Most Potawatomi,
however— known as the “vowel droppers”—do not use Fiero. With
respect for speakers and teachers with these different
perspectives, I have tried to use the words in the way that they
were originally given to me.