On Sun., June 14, 2015 Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Konawa, Oklahoma celebrated its centennial with a Mass and potluck reception. Sacred Heart Mission and the associated school has a history in Pottawatomie County that dates back to 1876, when Fr. Isodore Robot, a French Benedictine arranged with the Potawatomi to establish a Catholic presence Read More »
Between her normal duties as director of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center and responsibilities in overseeing the museum’s reconstruction from damages sustained in the2014 flood, Dr. Kelli Mosteller recently featured as a contributor to a newly published book about the British Empire’s impact on indigenous communities. The book, “Indigenous Communities and Settler Colonialism: Read More »
Tribal members and their families are given the opportunity to work on regalia and share techniques with fellow Potawatomi at Festival each year. During Friday and Saturday of the annual event, theCultural Heritage Center hosts regalia making classes where items such as shawls, moccasins, medallions and bandoliers are crafted. “We’ve really tried to make our Read More »
Great Lakes Stickball Player by George Catlin 1835 [Smithsonian American Art Museum.] The first known six-sided dice dates from 3,000 BC Mesopotamia in what is now northern Iraq. The first horse race in America took place in the year 1668. Gambling and sport have been a part of the human identity for as Read More »
During the Family Reunion Festival, Powwow Arena Director Coby Lehman instructs participants on proper etiquette and what is acceptable to wear inside the arena. Lehman often passes out pamphlets that thoroughly explain proper powwow attire. While trying to adhere to these standards may seem daunting, the Cultural Heritage Center and FireLake Gift Shop can provide Read More »
Citizen Potawatomi Nation is the most treatied tribe in the United States, having more than 40 signed with the federal government as well as two each with Great Britain and France. This facet of history is also notable for the fact that all 40 of those signed by American officials and ratified by Congress were Read More »
Dr. Kelli Mosteller The Cultural Resources Department staff at Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center is responsible for the care and preservation and of all objects and documents in our possession. As director of the CHC, I often have the added responsibility of serving as the Tribe’s representative in consultations with federal agencies to Read More »
It was the flood no one saw coming. Surveillance video from inside the Long Room at the Cultural Heritage Center shows the floor rising in a dome shape.Within an hour, several inches of water came seeping through the concrete base and out the opened doors. Several months have passed since the eerie day that left Read More »
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center remains closed after thousands of gallons of water flooded the building on March 31. Construction crews began to remove the concrete slab from the Long Room at the Cultural Heritage Center this week so that the damage below the slab could be assessed. It will take crews Read More »
The famed Potawatomi artist Woody Crumbo depicted his life in the American southwest through paintings of intricately detailed horses, personal portraits and landscapes. Crumbo has etched his way into Potawatomi history through his art. Another Potawatomi artist following in Crumbo’s footsteps is Penny Coates. Born and raised in Shawnee, Okla., at a young age Coates Read More »