Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Jody Gzhadawsot (Helps Children) Mattena grew up learning to hunt, garden and gather as well as prepare and preserve foods from her grandfather and her mother. Now, she fulfills her dreams of cooking and educating through her BossLady Anish platforms and work with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Food Sovereignty Department as a lifeways consultant. Most recently, her work practicing and educating about Indigenous foodways brought her to the headquarters of one of the largest and most recognizable global food companies — Kellogg’s.
The January 2023 veterans report highlights a new mobile app that brings VA health care and benefits to veterans’ fingertips, as well as a return to regularly scheduled CPN Veterans Organization meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
In September 2022, Adalynn Grace Climer’s adoption was finalized after her time as a foster child through FireLodge Children & Family Services. Now, she’s reaching new milestones and the Climers are creating new traditions.
Bourbonnais-Tescier descendant Czarina Thompson began as a family history specialist at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center in 2005. Though the role has changed over the years as new technology and information becomes available, her attention to detail, extensive knowledge and love for helping Tribal members connect with their ancestors remain constant.
As a child in upstate New York, Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Barbara Wall, Ph.D., spent her time in and around the water. Wall now works as an assistant professor in the Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences Program at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Her research focuses on water, specifically the Great Lakes region, which is Potawatomi homeland.
In the January 2023 Language Update, Language Department Director Justin Neely pays tribute to James Thunder, Sr., who walked on in December 2022.
January is National Eye Care Month, and CPNHS patients’ overall health depends on high-quality eye care in a high-functioning facility. This article highlights CPNHS’s new state-of-the-art optometry clinic and important considerations for patients’ eye care and overall health.
The Colonial and Intertribal War series brings brief introductions to the conflicts between the Potawatomi, Nishnabe, and other tribal and colonial powers spanning 200 years between 1628 and 1830. Throughout that time, the Potawatomi participated in nine major conflicts prior to the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and forced removal by the U.S. government along the Trail of Death. The Beaver Wars began in 1628 and were the longest of those nine conflicts, lasting more than 70 years.
January 2023 Executive and Legislative columns.
The CPN Department of Education and Language Department Language Aide Robert Collins formed the Mokiwek (They Rise) team to offer Bodéwadmimwen to higher education institutions. CPN now has agreements with four colleges and universities in Oklahoma and one in Kansas.