Dowagiac and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi

Dowagiac is the home base of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. The Band is one of the region’s federally recognized Native American tribes, and its main government offices are here. Its roots in this area go back centuries — the city’s very name comes from the Potawatomi. After a long fight, the tribe’s federal recognition was reaffirmed by Congress in 1994. Since then, it has become one of southwest Michigan’s most significant employers and community institutions. Its tribal government, housing, and economic-development arms are based in and around Dowagiac.

The Band also runs the Four Winds casinos. The third of them, Four Winds Dowagiac, opened just south of the city in 2013 on tribal land. It’s smaller and more local than the flagship resort the tribe built down in New Buffalo. But it’s part of the same family. Between its government and its businesses, the Pokagon Band is woven deeply into life in this corner of the county.

Four Winds Dowagiac, 58700 M-51 South, Dowagiac