Area tribes donate $10,000 toward 23 life-saving AEDs for Shawnee Public Schools

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the Absentee Shawnee Tribe donated $5,000 each, helping the Shawnee Public School District place 23 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) across its campuses. An AED device is a transportable machine that restores an individual’s heart rhythm by sending an electric shock through the chest. These portable devices have the potential to Read More »

Tribal Scholarship applications open July 15

Submitted by Tesia Zientek, Education Department It’s time to kick off the fall Tribal scholarship application period! The online application opens 8 a.m. Central Standard Time on July 15 and closes 5 p.m. CST on Sept. 15. CPN prioritizes education, and we look forward to granting Tribal scholarships to more than 1,000 students each year. Read More »

Charting the Nation’s future

Citizen Potawatomi Nation employee Zach Davis remembers his childhood family trips, eagerly surveying road maps as he navigated their journeys. “I really like looking at maps and making heads or tails, geographically, why things are where they are,” he said. The fascination carried into college, where he dropped his history teaching major at East Central Read More »

Weekend Festival contests open to artists of all ages

Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s annual Family Reunion Festival runs June 29-July 1 across Raymond Peltier Park and Tribal enterprises near Shawnee, Oklahoma. Native culture and heritage are often shared through art, and this year, the Tribe celebrates creative expression with youth and adult contests. Children’s contest Youths age 15 and younger can enter up to three Read More »

Visit the Tribe’s aviary during Festival

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Eagle Aviary was the fourth Native American aviary to open in the country. Off a quite road away from town, it houses 14 eagles, one falcon and two hawks. The aviary’s mission is to be a place of rehabilitation and sanctuary for injured birds. Some live the rest of their lives Read More »

CPN Family Reunion Festival: Honored Families of 2018

ANDERSON Marie (Mary) C. Tremble was the daughter of Therese Archange Morin Tremble Mann and Toussaint Tremble. She married John Anderson Sr. In the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, Marie received $500. John and Marie had three children: John Jr., Peter and Marie Anna Anderson. John Jr. married Elizabeth Hardin, and his brother Peter Anderson married Read More »

Explore Potawatomi Country

Check out these family friendly activities while in town for the Family Reunion Festival!

What to expect while recording stories and history during Family Reunion Festival

Every year during the Family Reunion Festival, a few Citizen Potawatomi Nation employees set up cameras and invite all ages of Honored Family descendants to volunteer information about their lineage on video. This year’s Honored Families are Anderson, Beaubien, Bertrand, Bourbonnais, Ogee, Pettifer, Toupin, Wano and Yott. This process documents Potawatomi people’s stories, expands Tribal Read More »

Byé bidgek Bodéwadmik gdewigwamem

This month, Citizen Potawatomi Nation welcomes Potawatomi tribal members from across the United States to Tribal headquarters near Shawnee, Oklahoma, for the annual Family Reunion Festival. Byé bidgek Bodéwadmik gdewigwamem, roughly translated, means “Welcome to your home, Potawatomi people.” Between June 29 and July 1, an expected 5,000 Tribal members will participate in cultural activities, Read More »