Amidst what can seem like an ever growing list of Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal programs on offer to members around the world, it is vital that Citizen Potawatomi remember to maintain their address information with the tribe. For all address changes tribal members should always contact CPN Tribal Rolls. Here are some frequently asked questions we’ve received about this issue.
I don’t get a Hownikan with my name on it at my address, but my child does, even though they don’t live here. Why?
Due to the increasing cost of postage and printing for the tribal newspaper, the decision was made to send one physical copy of the tribal newspaper to each address in the Hownikan’s mailing list.
This was also done for a secondary, though less common reason. A number of households contacted the tribal newspaper and requested that excess copies addressed to children or siblings who no longer lived at a residence be discontinued. On one occasion, nine copies of the same paper were being delivered to one home though only one tribal member still lived there.
I updated my address information with the health clinic, shouldn’t my Hownikan mailing address be automatically updated too?
No, the address and patient information that tribal members have with CPN Health Services is not shared with any other tribal department due to privacy statutes. Just because you or an elder you help care for receives correspondence from the mail order pharmacy or Health Aid program, does not mean that address information was given to CPN Tribal Rolls, who maintains the Hownikan subscription address list.
I called and updated my information with the tribe a few months ago, why haven’t I gotten the Hownikan?
It’s important to remember that, with more than 50 tribal programs and commercial enterprises, there are occasions where the information you shared about an updated address did not get to the correct department. The repository for all CPN tribal member address information – outside of health services – is CPN Tribal Rolls.
They can be reached weekdays from 8 p.m. – 5 p.m. at (800) 880-9880 or (405) 878-5835. Further information can be found at http://cpn.news/tribalrolls.
For more than four years, the Hownikan has come out each month, typically arriving in mailboxes of subscribers by the second week of the month. If you or a loved one has not received one in several months, contact tribal rolls and ensure that they have the most up to date address information on the rolls and on the separate Hownikan mailing list.
Why does tribal rolls have a separate Hownikan mailing list?
The Public Information Department, which puts out the tribal newspaper, does not keep track of the Hownikan subscription list. An updated subscription list is secured for the paper each month from CPN Tribal Rolls.
However, the Hownikan subscription list is kept separate from the main CPN Tribal Rolls Master List, which has all tribal members’ last known addresses on file.
The difference between the two lists is that when a Hownikan newspaper subscription is returned to tribal rolls because the address is invalid or there is notice that the resident CPN member is no longer there, CPN Tribal Rolls removes that address from the Hownikan subscription list only.
The address is kept on the master list as the “last known address.” Correspondence like absentee ballot request forms and district meeting invitations are still sent there until it is updated. Part of this is due to cost savings, as the Hownikan goes out monthly while those other pieces of correspondence go out less frequently.
When contacting the department to update address information, please specifically ask the CPN Tribal Rolls employee to update the Hownikan subscription list along with the CPN Tribal Rolls master list. They can be reached weekdays from 8 p.m. – 5 p.m. at (800) 880-9880 or (405) 878-5835. Further information can be found at http://cpn.news/tribalrolls.