Students all over wore caps and gowns to celebrate a new milestone in their lives in May, and among those were the young children graduating from Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Child Development Center.
The CDC celebrated its 2024 Pre-K graduates with a ceremony at the Cultural Heritage Center on May 24.
Pre-K graduate Jasper Earls delivered the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by speeches by CPN Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett, Vice-Chairman Linda Capps and CDC Director Donnette Littlehead.
The students also performed songs in the Potawatomi language under the direction of Robert Collins, the interdepartmental Potawatomi language lead, who worked with the students for two months to teach them the songs. The students previously performed the songs at the Elders Center and also at the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, where they received first place in their category.
Sixteen students walked across the stage, with eight different tribes represented among the graduates: CPN, Cherokee, Choctaw, Kickapoo, Seminole, Sac & Fox, Chickasaw and Delaware.
To learn more about the CDC, visit cpn.news/childdevelopment.