Hobbies And Interests
Lacrosse
Potawatomi kids, mostly the older boys, enjoyed playing a game of lacrosse. Children would break up into teams and use a single stick, three feet long, with a pocket on the end that was around 4 inches in diameter. A ball was made of wood that was charred and scraped to the desired shape. Teams would work together passing the ball with their sticks to get where they could throw it into their goal. Children playing this game were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands.
Hand Game
A guessing game named the Hand Game was played by many Potawatomi kids. Some of the children on one team would hide two small objects in their hands. Another team had to guess which hands the objects were hidden in. Some items they used to hide included horseshoe nails and pebbles. They kept score with sticks that the children sharpened and placed into the ground. This game may have been popular because any number of children could play.
Snow Snake
In the winter, boys would play a game called Snow Snake. A stick made of hardwood, 2 to 6 feet long and a half-inch thick, and was completely smoothed with a wider head on one end. Eyes and a mouth were drawn on the head to resemble a snake. A boy would use his forefinger and thumb to hold one end lightly, while he balanced the stick on the palm of his other hand. He would run, then bend and flip the stick to on top of the snow to see how far it would slide. Boys would make bets on whose stick would travel the farthest.
Hoop Game
Potawatomi children enjoyed a simple game known as the Hoop Game quite often. Children would use a hoop that they could made out of birch bark and would roll it all around their village. Many of the mothers in the tribe would encourage their children to go out and play this game just before dark, in hopes that it would tire the children out so that they would then get a good sleep that night.