This episode discusses the effects of Medicaid expansion on Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services, visits a crafting class at CPN’s Cultural Heritage Center and provides tips and tricks for credit scores for National Credit Education Month.
In 2021, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Language Department once again began offering in-person classes after more than a year of virtual learning due to the pandemic. Since many Tribal members live across the country, they continue to use online platforms during every session. Tribal members find connection through in-person and online offerings, and pass on what they learn to their families.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Amy Higdon followed her passion for costume design and attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in theater. After holding several jobs on film and television productions, she is now pursuing her master’s in costume design at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation works to finance, promote, educate, and inspire the entrepreneurial growth, economic opportunity and financial well-being of underserved Native populations. Cindy Logsdon, CPCDC CEO writes about how her team works to help people move forward in life, which benefits all Oklahomans by creating strong families and communities.
Each year, AARP awards Native American elders for their contributions to the improvement of their tribes and communities. Citizen Potawatomi Nation member and Emergency Management Department Director Tim Zientek was chosen in 2021 as one of 47 elders recognized for his “achievements, community service and impact,” according to the organization.
After watching several businesses start and fail during his two decades in information technology, Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Randy Haas realized their success depended much more on communication and leadership than skills and strategy. He began an Oklahoma City-based information technology company in 2018, Sharpstone Group, LLC. Haas then added Stonecutters Leadership as a communication branch that focuses on leadership training and team management.
February is a month often known for everything love. It is not just for Valentine’s Day gifts and sweethearts, though. February is also National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The CPN House of Hope wants to encourage everyone to bring acknowledgment to dating violence and consider the health of your own relationships during February.
Oklahoma voters narrowly approved the expansion of Medicaid eligibility in June 2020, helping thousands of previously uninsured residents qualify for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services officials are ready to ensure new patients efficiently receive services and CPNHS can cost-effectively administer care. Apply for Medicaid at mysoonercare.org or by phone at 800-987-7767. Benefits specialists at the CPN clinics are also available to assist with enrollment.
This month’s report announces the calendar of meetings for 2022. Don’t forget that this month’s meeting will be held Tuesday, February 22.
In September 2021, CPN introduced him as the head coach of one of TBL’s newest expansion teams, the Potawatomi Fire: Derrick Rowland, who most recently coached TBL’s Albany (New York) Patroons. Along with helping the next generation of players develop both personally and professionally, Rowland is excited about the chance to represent something even bigger: pride in Indigenous identity. The Fire are the first professional sports team to be owned by a tribal nation in Oklahoma.