Burnett family member Tracy Locke is deeply invested in her heritage even though she lives in Lafayette, Indiana, hundreds of miles away from Citizen Potawatomi Nation headquarters. Lafayette is one of the stops the Potawatomi made on the Trail of Death in 1838. In fact, she is a descendant of Abram Burnett, who was 26 Read More »
With more than 50 public-facing businesses and tribal departments, Citizen Potawatomi Nation produces its fair share of trash and refuse, measuring in the tons. When it can’t be recycled through the tribe’s nascent recycling programs, CPN pays outside waste management firms to haul the garbage away, a cost that impacts the bottom line of tribal Read More »
According to Potawatomi heritage, eagles are a sacred and important animal. They are prayer warriors who carry prayers up to the Creator. But what happens when an eagle can no longer fly? Mskwabimesh (Red Willow) is a five-year-old amputee residing at Citizen Potawatomi Nations’ Eagle Aviary in Shawnee, Oklahoma. As an eaglet, the bird likely Read More »
Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Language Department has a small but dedicated staff of teachers who over the years have sought out new and technologically friendly ways of bringing the Potawatomi language to members. The fact remains that with headquarters in Oklahoma, many Citizen Potawatomi found themselves struggling to learn the language of their ancestors. However, through Read More »
Exciting things are happening across Indian Country, from new business ventures to government contracts, U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for community projects and other opportunities for Native American entrepreneurs. One venture recently opened in Shawnee, Oklahoma is Peltier Mobile Auto Detail Service. We caught up with owner Tracy Peltier earlier this month for an interview Read More »
Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services visitors to CPN East Clinic may have noticed a new face greeting patients seeing a doctor, filling a prescription or getting an X-ray. New clinic manager Jeffrey Cleveland now supervises operations at the tribe’s first clinic after joining in mid-2017 from Saint Anthony’s Hospital. Cleveland was born in Tishomingo, Oklahoma Read More »
Natives have participated in every major U.S. military encounter from the Revolutionary War to today’s conflicts in the Middle East. Although, proportionally, Native American military servicemen and women serve at a higher rate than any other ethnic group, their contributions go largely unrecognized. The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, along with urging Read More »
The summer of 2017 was the second year that the newly formed Citizen Potawatomi Nation Department of Education coordinated internships throughout the tribe. The number of participants who gained career experience at CPN doubled from last year and this year’s lineup was comprised of students with unique backgrounds and aspirations. Four who completed internships and Read More »
Tribal member Caleb Martin, originally from Meeker, Oklahoma, spent the summer of 2017 among some of the most notable names in Los Angeles after an internship at Los Angeles Country Club took him to sunny California to hone his experiences as a golf course superintendent. In the spring, the Holloway family tribal member was in Read More »
Since opening in 2014, Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s largest entertainment venue, FireLake Arena, has hosted a wide array of trade shows, school events and concerts, including ZZ Top, Brett Eldredge and Lee Brice. Helping further develop the arena’s event and concert roster in recent months is FireLake Arena event manager and talent buyer Jason Fowler. Fowler Read More »