* Online registration is now closed. On site registration will open the morning of Friday, June 28 in the southwest side of the FireLake Arena. The Arena is located behind FireLake Discount Grocery at S. Gordon Cooper Drive and Hardesty Road in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
The Family Reunion Festival serves as an opportunity to connect with our families and culture, learn more about our tribe and make decisions that will help Citizen Potawatomi Nation continue to prosper. This year, the festival will be June 28, 29 and 30.
Honoring your family
Festival provides an opportunity to connect with relatives you may not have seen in a while and meet your extended Potawatomi family. The families being honored are the Johnson, Lafromboise, LaReau, LeClair, Melott, Rhodd, Tescier, Weld and Young families.
Families are honored with special dances at the Festival Grounds on Saturday evening.
Honored families also have the opportunity to participate in the Family Heritage Project. Families will be interviewed festival weekend at the Cultural Heritage Center. Please check the schedule for interview times.
The Family Reunion Festival is for CPN Tribal Members and their immediate family. Tribal members should bring their CPN identification card and check in at registration. Tribal members can register for the festival online at potawatomi.org.
Influencing your government
Tribal members have the opportunity to vote in District 2 and District 4 Legislator elections. Tribal members living in the southeast will choose between incumbent Eva Marie Carney and challenger Anthony Cole for District 2’s legislative seat. Tribal members in District 4 of Kansas will choose between incumbent Theresa Adame and Jon E. Boursaw.
Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett will also appear on the ballot, but is running unopposed.
In addition to the Legislative races, tribal members will vote on the budget. Voting is held in the tribal court room located at 1601 South Gordon Cooper Drive in the CPN Headquarters building.
General Counsel will be held at The Arena on Saturday at 3 p.m. and is an opportunity for tribal members to learn about what is happening with the tribe.
Chairman Barrett will present the State of the Nation and Vice-Chairman Capps and Secretary/Treasurer Trousdale will provide a financial update. Art competition winners, special awards and election results are also announced at General Counsel.
Connecting with your culture
The Family Reunion Festival offers tribal members several opportunities to learn more about the culture and history of Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
The Cultural Heritage Center will be open during festival and will offer several classes and the language department will offer beginners language classes. Classes include arts and crafts, beading, fringing, moccasin making and feather painting.
Perhaps the most memorable way to connect with your Potawatomi culture is the powwow, which takes place Saturday evening. All of the honored families will be recognized with a dance and Grand Entry will take place at 8 p.m. In order to dance tribal members must wear traditional regalia. Men should wear a ribbon shirt and a sash and women should wear a blouse with a simple skirt and a shawl. Tank tops, flip flops, shorts, etc. are not permitted attire for dancing.
Tribal members will also see several completed construction projects this year. A new branch of First National Bank, a new WIC building, The CPN Gym, The Arena and a new hotel top the list of recently or soon to be complete projects.
Please join us at the 2013 Family Reunion Festival and rekindle a sense of being Potawatomi and take the opportunity to focus on our history, culture, traditions, and language.