{"id":9968,"date":"2026-06-01T16:37:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T20:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/?p=9968"},"modified":"2026-06-01T16:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T20:37:56","slug":"potawatomi-bodwewadmimwen-indigenous-language-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/2026\/06\/01\/potawatomi-bodwewadmimwen-indigenous-language-course\/","title":{"rendered":"New: Potawatomi Indigenous Language Course"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe have to live our language.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That’s title of the Bodw\u00e9wadmimwen course now available in Transparent Language Online. It’s also a mission statement for the Potawatomi people, whose language has only a handful of first-language speakers remaining.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the efforts of the Language Department at The Citizen Potawatomi Nation, library patrons can now learn Bodw\u00e9wadmimwen, the language of the Potawatomi people.<\/p>\n

\"Potawatomi<\/p>\n

About the Bodw\u00e9wadmimwen Language<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are seven distinct Potawatomi tribes across the United States, located in Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Their language, known as Bodw\u00e9wadmimwen, is an Algonquian language closely related to Ojibwe and Odawa. The language has two dialects (northern and southern) which differ mainly in a few words and consonant preferences. For example, in the south, speakers favor k, p, d, s, and sh; in the north, g, b, t, z, and zh.<\/p>\n

But the language is at a critical crossroads. Fewer than five first-language speakers remain.<\/p>\n

About the Course<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The \u201cAbdek gde-bmadzemen gde-zheshmomenan: We have to live our language\u201d<\/em> course was developed by the Potawatomi community in Oklahoma to bring the language into more daily conversations.<\/p>\n

The course includes 11 units built around everyday words and phrases, from common tasks at home to errands like grocery shopping: \"Potawatomi<\/p>\n