Kandi McCracken frequently opens emails from thankful Citizen Potawatomi Nation members. As the education and learning lab counselor for CPN’s Workforce Development & Social Services Department, she walks Tribal members through the process of obtaining vocational scholarships. “’I wanted to let you know with the help of the Potawatomi that I have a job that Read More »
Whether promotions on the radio or advertisements in a local magazine, if an ad about FireLake Casino is out there, chances are that you’re hearing work shaped by Kevin Huffine. The Anadarko, Oklahoma, native began working as the casino and bingo hall’s marketing manager in 2015. After Huffine graduated from Anadarko High School, he walked Read More »
Amidst an era of increased expansion by non-Native settlers into the United States’ western frontiers, a single piece of legislation codified federal policy on the topic of removing tribal people from their lands. On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law. This legislation authorized the federal government to forcibly Read More »
The Oklahoma Tribal Financial Consortium came from a simple idea created by multiple tribal finance directors and the sheer willpower of the organization’s president, founder and CEO Victor Flores. The Absentee Shawnee Tribe frequently sent him out of state to attend workshops during his first year as its chief financial officer because few educational opportunities Read More »
Assisting others is the highlight of Heather Gaston’s career. Before accepting her current position as the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Child Development Center’s intake specialist, Gaston served as a master infant teacher at the CPN CDC for 12 years. Now, she provides low-income Native American families with social service referrals and assists parents with finding adequate Read More »
In June, Shawnee Public Schools science teacher Cheyenne Branscum flew to Washington D.C. as Oklahoma’s only recipient of a Society for Science and the Public grant. The society invited Branscum, a Tribal member and Melot family descendant, to its advocate training institute. There she met fellow educators from across the nation, exchanging ideas and best Read More »
After working and researching around the world, Citizen Potawatomi Nation member Raymond Orr accepted a position as an associate professor of Native American studies at the University of Oklahoma. He wanted to be back in the United States and closer to CPN following six years of teaching in Australia. “There are few better places to Read More »
Most people’s childhood dreams remain unfulfilled, but Whitney Heer, Tribal member and descendant of the Toupin family, has worked to make her dreams a reality. She serves as a lieutenant junior grade in the U.S. Navy. Heer attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island, the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland and primary flight Read More »
Submitted by Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton The international mental health community is gearing up for its yearly, planned moment in the spotlight. The World Health Organization observes World Mental Health Day annually on Oct. 10 to raise awareness of mental health issues around the globe and better mobilize support networks. With up to half of all conditions Read More »
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation invites local youth interested in taking up North America’s original sport to attend the Lacrosse Exhibition Day on Oct. 14. The event will include a two-hour instructional seminar and feature two lacrosse games between teams from Oklahoma and Texas. CPN hopes to recruit players to restart the youth lacrosse program that Read More »