The numbers on Citizen Potawatomi education investment

By Tesia Zientek, Director of the CPN Department of Education As we enter the third year of having an established Citizen Potawatomi Nation Department of Education, our team developed our annual report to reflect on the successes and challenges we face as we serve our Tribal students. Our portal, which the CPN Information Technology Department 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 »

Education update

By Tesia Zientek, Director of CPN Department of Education Last fall, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Department of Education hosted its first annual Wzhitawen (Potawatomi for S/He Prepares) Native American College & Career Fair. With more than 30 universities, technical schools and tribal education departments attending from all over the United States, dozens of students and Read More »

Education update

Submitted by Tesia Zientek, CPN Department of Education It was a pleasure for the CPN Department of Education to meet so many students and families over Family Reunion Festival weekend. We speak with so many people over the phone or via email that it is always wonderful to put names with faces. We feel confident 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 »

Potawatomi Leadership Program curriculum gets an update

Each summer, Citizen Potawatomi Nation selects 10 promising Tribal youths who have finished high school or their freshman year of college for the Potawatomi Leadership Program.The 2018 class traveled from across thecountry and arrived June 15. PLP adviser and Department of Education Director Tesia Zientek welcomed and introduced them to their counselor, Randy Bazhaw. The Read More »

Ask not what you can do for your ideal college — ask what it can do for you

U.S. News & World Report released its annual national university rankings in September with Princeton, Harvard and the University of Chicago earning the top three slots. In 2016, Indian Country Today’s “Hot List” recommendations suggested The University of California at Los Angeles’ Law & American Studies program and the University of Tulsa’s online Master of Read More »

Local students learn to define their success

Between 2008 and 2018, Oklahoma decreased per-pupil educational funding by 28.2 percent, leading the United States in total percentage cuts to education. No other state slashed education budgets more than 20 percent. In fact, Oklahoma reduced funding by 12 percent more than Texas, which sits at second place. Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Education Department developed the Read More »

CPN’s Wzhitawen Project builds equity upon a strong heritage

Editor’s note: A version of this story was published in the summer 2017 edition of TeachLink as part of a three-part series on the Wzhitawen project. It was submitted to the Hownikan by Deena V. Thomas, Outreach Coordinator, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Protected and preserved is Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The Potawatomi have had Read More »

College leadership program applications open Feb. 1

Submitted by Tesia Zientek, Director, Department of Education The 2018 Potawatomi Leadership Program application opens 8 a.m. CST Feb. 1 and closes 5 p.m. CST April 2. Every summer, Citizen Potawatomi Nation welcomes eight to 10 tribal members ages 18-20 to learn about the tribe’s government, economic development and culture as part of the program. Read More »