For the past seven years, Sarah Garrison has taught grade school in her hometown of Seiling, Oklahoma. This year, she was named 2023 Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Audrey Kiefer is helping people reach for the stars with Axiom Space, the leading provider of human spaceflight services and developer of human-rated space infrastructure.
Writing is nothing new to author and Tribal member Kaitlin Curtice, but in October, she expects to release her first children’s book. Winter’s Gifts, available starting Oct. 31, tells the story of a Potawatomi girl named Dani (dah-nee) and the way she and her family celebrate the Winter Solstice.
A Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member recently became the newest franchisee of an Oklahoma business dedicated to preserving homes. Blake Elwell opened a branch of Preservan in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The business repairs homes using an epoxy material for a long-lasting and environmentally sustainable solution.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Vivian Hayes is new to high school wrestling, but she has already begun to make her mark in the sport, becoming one of the first female wrestlers from her school to qualify for state under a regional format.
During this episode, we’ll hear tips to increase empathy and de-escalation strategies, and listen back to a Tribal member who was an Olympic synchronized swimmer at the 2012 London games. We’ll also hear a cosmological story from the CPN Language Department.
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.
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.
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.
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.