As the annual Potawatomi Leadership Program drew to its close, the participants reflected on what they learned throughout their six weeks with Citizen Potawatomi Nation and encouraged other Potawatomi youth to apply for next year’s program.
Rachel Watson, CPN Department of Education Senior College Advisor, offers advice to students applying to The Gates Scholarship. Watson encourages students to start their application early, be themselves, display their passions and achievements, and to ask for help from mentors, teachers or the Department of Education.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Department of Education unveiled a new program this spring designed to help CPN students fully embrace their Potawatomi heritage. The first-ever Coming Into the Circle event was designed to encourage high school graduates to claim their Indigenous identity and help them feel they belong to a bigger community.
The CPNHS Scholarship for Service, or Mshkeke (the Potawatomi word for medicine), covers tuition and fees in return for a minimum of one to three years of employment at a CPNHS site. Scholarships are available for one person going into a licensed practical nurse program and for two people in a dental hygiene program.
Inspired by Tribal member Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass, Illinois resident Vanessa Griffin ran her first marathon at 50 years old, raising money for the CPN Department of Education’s Michael John Kennedy Scholarship fund.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation welcomes seven students pursuing higher education to the Tribal grounds for six weeks for the Potawatomi Leadership Program. Meet the class of 2023.
During this episode, we’ll hear from a marathon runner who donated to a Tribal scholarship fund, celebrate 20 years of the Potawatomi Leadership Program, and look at one-way CPN is making an opioid overdose reversal tactic more available.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Department of Education is accepting applications for the second session of Mdamen, the Tribe’s new leadership program that helps participants establish and maintain a strong connection to their Potawatomi heritage. The application period opened on October 1 and closes November 15.
One of the most anticipated parts of the Potawatomi Leadership Program is a reception at which the participants present the special projects they created that include programs, services or enterprises they envision for the Nation’s future. Read about this year’s projects and participant reflections.
The annual CPN Department of Education Graduation Celebration welcomes graduates of various degree programs and their families back to the CPN Cultural Heritage Center for a meal, gifts, drumming and celebration. The department cherishes the opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of Tribal members and scholarship recipients, and to connect graduates with their Tribe.