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BODEWADMI NDAW is a documentary about the efforts of the Potawatomi people to revitalize their language, Bodwéwadmimwen. The title is a declaration. It means I am Potawatomi.

“My people have spent centuries unable to be ourselves lest we face malice, persecution, and death. It has only been 25 years that the federal government has recognized us as our own people and it is through our distinct language and culture. Our language, however, has been rapidly disappearing,” says Henderson. “To my knowledge, there is no other film in the world that covers this subject. This story needs to be told. Our language is beautiful. My people are beautiful. We do not deserve to disappear.”

Davis Henderson is a filmmaker, voice actor, and storyteller. As a citizen of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians (also known by the community as the Gun Lake Tribe). Kalamazoo born and based, they wish to share stories about the land that we gather on that are not written in history books.