DOWAGIAC, Mich. — The Dowagiac River has been around forever and has undergone a lot of change. Now the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi is working to restore it back to its natural state.
Restoring the river's natural curves has been a decade-long project. The Director of Natural Resources for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, Jennifer Kanine, says the river once had natural curves until the 1920s when it was straightened by settlers.
“Because you're disconnecting the river from its floodplains, you're actually impacting a lot of the wildlife that are in the area,” she said. “And traditionally, and historically, the Pokagon band Potawatomi lived off the land.”
Now, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi is making progress restoring the river's bends and removing dams.
Phase one of the project restores two bends and the second phase will restore three.
These changes are expected to prevent flood damage, and filter out pollution and sediments.
“We try to work with the Earth, we try to work with nature. We're not trying to fight against it,” Kanine said.
Tribal citizen and Cultural Sustainability Lead, Cusi Ballew, says the project means a lot.
“We were people who traveled by canoe and harvested a lot of food and medicines from wetlands, because we were surrounded here by wetlands,” Ballew said.
Ballew’s main job is teaching the youth about traditional practices done by the Potawatomi, such as their syrup and sugar making processes. He believes restoring the river creates opportunities for the youth to learn about their history.
Phase two of the project is expected to be done by April 2024.
