Whether they’d completed high school or college, Citizen Potawatomi Nation celebrated its recent graduates with a graduation celebration and lunch.
Seven families from as far away as Maryland arrived at the Long Room of the CHC Saturday, April 27, to recognize graduates who had received high school diplomas up to a master’s degree.
CPN Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett and Vice-Chairman Linda Capps spoke at the event before the graduates were honored.
Each grad received a limited edition print of the winning piece from the art contest, 8th Generation socks, a padfolio and some traditional medicines before taking photos with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman.
In addition to the seven graduates honored at the CHC, 39 who could not attend in person also signed up for a virtual celebration. Those graduates were mailed a copy of the art print.
The celebration originated in 2017 to honor the graduating class at St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee, Oklahoma, which has since closed its doors. Since 2019, CPN has continued to host a graduation celebration on the last Saturday of April.
Any coming graduates who are interested in attending — either in person or virtually — can look for the Graduation Celebration tab on the Education portion of the Portal. Students can also apply for an honor cord if they are graduating with a 3.9 GPA.