Q&A with Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey

Creed Humphrey is a Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member and center for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. At only 23 years old, the Peltier family descendant played his second season of professional football in 2022-23, ending with his first Super Bowl appearance on Feb. 12, 2023. He spoke with the Hownikan about his experience as a professional football player.

Potawatomi artists collaborate on ‘Speak Again’

Two Potawatomi artists contributed their talents to a new song and music video, Speak Again. Inspired by Potawatomi author Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s 2013 best-selling book, Braiding Sweetgrass, the lyrics and video envision a future where Bodéwadmimwen is brought back to Potawatomi communities in a meaningful way.

2022 a record year for The Kwek Society

The Kwek Society, founded in 2018 by CPN District 2 Legislator and humanitarian immigration lawyer Eva Marie Carney, is a nonprofit organization addressing period poverty in Indian Country. In 2022, the organization surpassed 1,000,000 supplies delivered, expanded partnerships and received notable media coverage of their work.

Young family descendant named veteran scholarship recipient

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Department of Education selected Sarah Dunigan as the second recipient of the Michael John Kennedy Scholarship. She attends the University of Oklahoma in Norman and takes pride in three generations of relatives who served in the military throughout the 20th century.

Tribal member brings food sovereignty before global food giant

Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Jody Gzhadawsot (Helps Children) Mattena grew up learning to hunt, garden and gather as well as prepare and preserve foods from her grandfather and her mother. Now, she fulfills her dreams of cooking and educating through her BossLady Anish platforms and work with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Food Sovereignty Department as a lifeways consultant. Most recently, her work practicing and educating about Indigenous foodways brought her to the headquarters of one of the largest and most recognizable global food companies — Kellogg’s.

Thompson helps weave family history threads

Bourbonnais-Tescier descendant Czarina Thompson began as a family history specialist at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center in 2005. Though the role has changed over the years as new technology and information becomes available, her attention to detail, extensive knowledge and love for helping Tribal members connect with their ancestors remain constant.

Hownikan Podcast: Art and history of language

This episode explores language, specifically Bodéwadmimwen in a historical context. We hear from a CPN musician and filmmaker who created a music video showcasing the past, present and future of Potawatomi. We also discuss the legacy of a first language speakers who recently walked on.

Academic, professor finds inspiration in water

As a child in upstate New York, Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Barbara Wall, Ph.D., spent her time in and around the water. Wall now works as an assistant professor in the Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences Program at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Her research focuses on water, specifically the Great Lakes region, which is Potawatomi homeland.

Hownikan Podcast: December 2022

During this episode, we’ll hear the story of an Indigenous food expert and the many layers of their most recent project and spend time with NFL Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphreys.

Hownikan Podcast: Water and women

Environmental studies and sciences professor Barbara Wall loves, researches and teaches about water from an Indigenous perspective.