Whether this is your first Family Reunion Festival or your 40th, and no matter how important you think your story is, the Cultural Heritage Center invites all Tribal members to add to its collection of heritage interviews.

Heritage interviews are video interviews meant to capture the experiences of Tribal veterans and CPN family members of all ages.

“We have over a thousand hours of interview recordings and that number continues to grow. It is one of the largest oral history collections of any Indigenous community in the country. Despite its size, we still need so much more and are extremely thankful to the community for contributing,” Cultural Heritage Center Director Blake Norton said.

Interviews can be scheduled at portal.potawatomi.org under the Festival Interviews tab. The Cultural Heritage Center will also have signage around the Festival grounds and at registration with information about how to participate.

Interviews can be scheduled during Family Reunion Festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday. Staff lunch breaks are scheduled daily from noon to 1 p.m. Interviews can be scheduled in time slots of 30 minutes, with the option to extend to an hour.

Interviews often start with basic information, such as the Tribal member’s name and age, before becoming a discussion that allows the interviewees to talk about whatever they feel is important to them. Many participants share thoughts they would like to pass on to their future self or to future generations.

“It is like creating a time capsule where future generations of your family can hear your story in your words in your voice,” Lenggenhager said.

Individuals can complete an interview one at a time, or families can choose to do a group interview together.

Those who are interviewed have the option to put restrictions on the use of the interview, though that rarely happens. Participants can request a video not be shown to the public or to family, or even request it not be shown until a certain amount of time has passed.

For those who cannot make it to Festival or who live far away, the CHC can schedule online interviews, utilizing software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. To schedule an interview, please visit potawatomiheritage.com/tribal-heritage.

Look for more information about heritage interviews at registration and on signs located around the Festival.