Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Chairperson Aaron Payment made a statement to U.S. News and World Report in November concerning Native American graduation rates, “We have the worst of the worst statistics… The first Americans have become the last Americans.” Due in part to bureaucratic infighting and incompetence at the federal level, Native American students, especially those learning at institutions controlled by federal Read More »

Taking place in the original homelands of what is today known as the Citizen Potawatomi Nation; CPN Tribal Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett was one of the guests of honor at the 41st annual Trail of Courage History Festival taking place on September 17-18 in Rochester, Indiana. Chairman Barrett was chosen as a representative of his Potawatomi familial lineage to one of the tribe’s Read More »

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation had a $513 million impact in Oklahoma during 2015. CPN directly supported 2,245 jobs and paid $82 million in wages and benefits. CPN indirectly supported thousands more jobs and boosted local economies by making purchases of more than $193 million on goods and services. Tribal jobs are often a primary source of income and benefits for many Oklahoma families. According to Read More »

Bozho, The 2016 Gathering of Potawatomi Nations was a great success for the CPN veterans. We had approximately 80 attendees at our meeting of all tribal groups. Our Saturday morning meeting and greeting session in the CPN North Reunion Hall was a memorable event. Each veteran introduced themselves and shared with the group some information about their service.  One veteran shared his personal experiences with Read More »

Since Gathering of Potawatomi Nations, the employees at the CPN Cultural Heritage Center have focused on completing the museum floor. Curator and Archivist Blake Norton, CHC Director Kelli Mosteller, Ph.D., and Audio and Video Production Manager Will Hogan – a member of the Chickasaw Nation – explained to the Hownikan what tribal members should expect and how the plans are coming together. What is Read More »

CPN members in Oklahoma have likely been reading about a Citizen Potawatomi in their local newspapers if they’re fans of high school and college football. Shawnee, Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey made headlines in early August as he announced he was changing his college plans after initially committing to play football at Texas A&M University. “After long thought and prayer I have decided to decommit from Read More »

The U.S. Senate accomplished something in late July that it doesn’t typically do. It unanimously passed legislation introduced by senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) that, if signed into law, will strengthen tribal employment and training programs nationwide. For Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Employment and Training Program, the proposed legislation is viewed positively as it seeks to streamline budgetary and payment processing practices at the federal level. Read More »

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Housing Authority (CPNHA) has a “One Time Grant” available to enrolled Tribal members who are going to purchase, build or refinance a home. This grant is for closing costs or down payment only. All Citizen Potawatomi Tribal members are eligible for this grant for one time only. The maximum amount available is $2,125 and does not have to be Read More »

Few employers have undergone the growth in economic and personnel terms like that the Citizen Potawatomi Nation has in the past decade. Once an employer of just more than 200, today the tribe now employs approximately 2,400 at its commercial enterprises and tribal departments. Each Monday, at least 10 new employees arrive at the tribal administration building for job orientations. To help manage current and future employment needs, Read More »

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center hosted more than 300 tribal members from nine Potawatomi tribes at a language conference in conjunction with the Gathering of Potawatomi Nations.  Justin Neely, CPN’s director of language for 11 years, has been to every Potawatomi language conference since the early 2000s. “I thought overall it went smoothly and we had a nice mixture of Read More »