Since Gathering of Potawatomi Nations, the employees at the CPN Cultural Heritage Center have focused on completing the museum floor. Curator and Archivist Blake Norton, CHC Director Kelli Mosteller, Ph.D., and Audio and Video Production Manager Will Hogan – a member of the Chickasaw Nation – explained to the Hownikan what tribal members should expect and how the plans are coming together. What is Read More »

CPN members in Oklahoma have likely been reading about a Citizen Potawatomi in their local newspapers if they’re fans of high school and college football. Shawnee, Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey made headlines in early August as he announced he was changing his college plans after initially committing to play football at Texas A&M University. “After long thought and prayer I have decided to decommit from Read More »

The U.S. Senate accomplished something in late July that it doesn’t typically do. It unanimously passed legislation introduced by senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) that, if signed into law, will strengthen tribal employment and training programs nationwide. For Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Employment and Training Program, the proposed legislation is viewed positively as it seeks to streamline budgetary and payment processing practices at the federal level. Read More »

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Housing Authority (CPNHA) has a “One Time Grant” available to enrolled Tribal members who are going to purchase, build or refinance a home. This grant is for closing costs or down payment only. All Citizen Potawatomi Tribal members are eligible for this grant for one time only. The maximum amount available is $2,125 and does not have to be Read More »

Few employers have undergone the growth in economic and personnel terms like that the Citizen Potawatomi Nation has in the past decade. Once an employer of just more than 200, today the tribe now employs approximately 2,400 at its commercial enterprises and tribal departments. Each Monday, at least 10 new employees arrive at the tribal administration building for job orientations. To help manage current and future employment needs, Read More »

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center hosted more than 300 tribal members from nine Potawatomi tribes at a language conference in conjunction with the Gathering of Potawatomi Nations.  Justin Neely, CPN’s director of language for 11 years, has been to every Potawatomi language conference since the early 2000s. “I thought overall it went smoothly and we had a nice mixture of Read More »

I initially heard about the Native American Political Leadership Program’s INSPIRE Pre-College Summer Program during the summer between eighth and ninth grades. I applied the following summer, only to find out that they were accepting rising seniors and recent high-school graduates, so I committed the program to memory and applied in the winter of my junior year at Tecumseh High School. I received an Read More »

The personalities of Native American leaders of the pre-removal era are less widely covered than their American counterparts. For every dozen chronicles of American statesmen or military leaders from the early 1800s, there are significantly fewer documented accounts relating the lives of tribal leaders of the same era. Though resources are few and far between, one account offers insight into the thoughts and experiences of Read More »

Amidst the ballot options available to CPN voters at the 2016 Family Reunion Festival were confirmations of executive appointments to the CPN Supreme Court. Tribal member Jennifer Lamirand was the newest supreme court justice approved by tribal voters and swore her oath of office during the 2016 General Council meeting at Festival. The Hownikan spoke to Read More »

Oklahoma continues to have some of the highest rates of behavioral health disorders, which include mental health and substance abuse disorders. Unfortunately, many Oklahomans do not receive the help they need. Due to these factors, among others, the state continues to have high rates of completed suicides. According to the American Association of Suicidology, on a national level, suicide is the second leading cause of Read More »