Credit death by student loans

By TaRena Reece CPDCD Marketing Manager Zack Friedman, a Forbes contributor, recently reported that student loan debt in the U.S. is a 1.5 trillion dollar crisis. According to Friedman, with more than 44 million borrowers, student loan debt is the “second highest consumer debt category … higher than both credit cards and auto loans.” In Read More »

Annual Potawatomi Gathering honors Nishnabek Ntewmen (Who We Are)

The 2018 Potawatomi Gathering, held July 30 through Aug. 5 at the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in Mayetta, Kansas, brought more than 2,300 Potawatomi together from across North America to celebrate Nishnabe culture, heritage and traditions. This year marked the 25th Gathering, titled Nishnabek Ntewmen (Who We Are). Festivities began on July 30-31, with the Read More »

President Trump signs tribal 477 law, boosting CPN Workforce development efforts

Citizen Potawatomi Nation hums along as Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma’s economic engine, holding new-hire orientation courses every Monday. On average, 10 to 20 employees attend each class before beginning their new positions that week. The Tribe has expanded its public services and commercial enterprises in recent years, and finding qualified applicants in the area has become Read More »

Hints on preparing regalia for Family Reunion Festival

In 1861, approximately 1,400 Potawatomi became U.S. citizens and acquired allotments from the federal government. Every year, Citizen Potawatomi Nation recognizes and celebrates families of those founding members during Family Reunion Festival near Shawnee, Oklahoma. This year’s June 29-July 1 event honors the Anderson, Beaubien, Bertrand, Bourbonnais, Ogee, Pettifer, Toupin, Wano and Yott families. The Read More »

Community Service Block Grants offer assistance to those in a bind

It can happen to anyone, with two separate bills coming due at the same time or an unexpected appliance failure at home. These expensive fixes can be a mere annoyance for those with savings to dip into, but can border on a catastrophe for those living paycheck to paycheck. This isn’t the end of the Read More »

E&T’s Zientek testifies before Congress

On April 13, 2015, Tribal member and Assistant Director of CPN’s Employment and Training Program Margaret Zientek testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs concerning House Resolution 329. Below is an abridged version of her remarks. To view the full video of her testimony, click here. As Read More »

CPN disburses LIHEAP funds to keep the heat on

Oklahoma has experienced a mild winter compared to other portions of the United States. For those who have been in a house with a broken heater while temperatures outside are in the 40s, mild can be a relative term. Tribal assistance is there to help. CPN’s Employment and Training Program is able to administer Low Read More »

CPN secures Tribal Reentry Grant

Oklahoma locks up more women than any other state according to a 2010 statistic by The Sentencing Project. According to the same study, Oklahoma ranks third in the nation for incarcerated people and imprisons citizens at a higher rate than other state. Yet once those individuals serve their time, they are often returned to society Read More »

Potawatomi art, how it came to be

According to a 1973 art history book by the Flint Institute of Arts, archaeologists have excavated burial grounds in the Great Lakes area containing pottery, jewelry and ornaments indicating skilled artists and techniques prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The burial grounds date as far back as the 200 BCE to 500 CE Hopewell Read More »