Higbee family history

To highlight some of the CPN Cultural Heritage Center’s archival holdings, the Hownikan is featuring photographs and family history of every founding Citizen Potawatomi family. The Higbee family traces its roots back to the St. Joseph River Valley and has a long legacy serving as teachers, medical professionals, CPN employees, Tribal leaders and more.

Anishnabé star knowledge

The first in a series by Minisa Crumbo Halsey that focuses on traditional Anishnabé star knowledge, this article tells how the Nishnabé arrived upon Sekmekwe (Mother Earth) by descent from the Mdodosenik, the Seven Sisters-Pleiades Constellation.

Language Update: March 2024

The March 2024 Language Update features a new beginner class, the annual Winter Storytelling event and a new class for Elders.

Tescier family offers Potawatomi history to local museum

A discussion at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Family Reunion Festival has motivated members of the Tescier family to ensure that Potawatomi history is included in a Harrah, Oklahoma, historical society’s museum. The land for the town’s original site was donated by Tribal member Louis Navarre, who was first to arrive at his allotment in the 1870s.

Language Update: February 2024

The February 2024 update from the CPN Language Department highlights a new beginner class starting on March 5, and the upcoming Winter Storytelling event on March 13.

Hardin family history

To highlight some of the CPN Cultural Heritage Center’s archival holdings, the Hownikan is featuring photographs and family history of every founding Citizen Potawatomi family. The Hardin family has a long history of service to the Nation, through elected and volunteer leadership, military service, trades and more.

Darling family history

The earliest communities in what would become Oklahoma were born from the hard work and generosity of families like the Darlings. The Hownikan traces Darling family history through archival records at the CHC.

Tribal members visit ‘sacred ground’

Officials with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and Tribal members from across the country met in Indiana and retraced the steps their ancestors took in 1838 when the Potawatomi were forced to leave their Indiana homelands and march to a reservation in Kansas.

2024 Honored Families announced

Every year at the CPN Family Reunion Festival, the Nation honors a group of families that moved to Oklahoma and eventually formed the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The 2024 Honored Families are Darling, Hardin, Higbee, Levier, Lewis, Nadeau, Negahnquet, Pambogo and Smith.

Tescier family history

To highlight some of the Cultural Heritage Center archive holdings, the Hownikan is featuring photographs and family history of every founding Citizen Potawatomi family. The Tescier family ancestors were front row witnesses to history and the birth of what would become Oklahoma. They lived through the Land Run, endured the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, and have served as elected officials of the CPN government and holders of cultural teachings over many generations.