CPN’s Cultural Heritage Center is the recipient of the Institute of Museum and Library Services 2025 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.
The award, first given out in 1994, recognizes institutions for “significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.” For 2025, five libraries and five museums, including the CHC, were honored across the country. CHC Director Blake Norton said CPN is the fourth Indigenous community to have received the medal since its inception.
“It’s a very prestigious award,” Norton said. “It’s the highest recognition that an institution can receive in the United States. It is a very big deal for us, and I’m extremely grateful. I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to achieve, CHC staff, past and present, as well as our collaborative departments throughout CPN. We are very appreciative of leadership and administration for their unwavering support and confidence.”
To be considered for the award, an institution must first be nominated, and from there, Norton said it is a rigorous process that takes about a year and a half from nomination to the announcement of the awards. Institutions must advance through three stages of peer review, where professionals and specialists from all over the country evaluate and determine the final nominees.
Norton said even to be nominated and advance the first review stage was a big deal.
Once in the running, they had to go through a multi-step evaluation that required an intensive screening process, including letters of support from the community, CPN leadership and even congressional leadership.
Institutions must also submit photos of their facilities. Fortunately, Norton said, the CHC’s website includes a virtual tour that enhanced visibility to reviewers.
“Visitors can virtually tour all aspects of the museum,” he said. “It’s kind of funny that we’ve won awards for our website and online programs, and those same resources were used to fulfill and improve our evaluation for the National Medal.”
Along with the medal, the CHC also received a financial award that Norton said they will be able to use to apply to programming such as language education and community resource development.
The CHC has yet to receive the actual medal. Typically, Norton said, an award ceremony is held at the White House, where the first lady presents the medals. However, he said this year it will be in a more public space, and presenting officials have yet to be announced.
And while Norton said it is nice to be recognized and celebrated by peers on a national level, the real benefits of receiving awards like this one are the resulting impact.
“The most valuable part of being recognized is the exposure and showing the world what a community can do when working together to achieve a common good. This highlights the power other Indigenous communities have to develop cultural, communal and educational spaces for their people. We are often asked by other tribal communities to assist in their development of institutional and educational programs and facilities. It’s an awesome way to pay it forward,” Norton said.
For more information about the award, go to cpn.news/nationalmedal.
See more about the CHC at potawatomiheritage.com.