As the year winds to a close and people anticipate the promise and possibilities of a new year, now is the time to reflect on 2022. For Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the past year was filled with celebration, innovation and success. We look back at some of the more notable events.
In September 2022, CPN’s Self-Governance Director Kasie Nichols accepted a position on the ACF Tribal Advisory Committee as an alternate representative for the Oklahoma City Area to help advise and make decisions on improving the agency and its service to tribes. For her, progressive change for the Tribe and other Native nations begins with a seat at the table.
This year is the 132nd anniversary of Pete Anderson’s death on December 26. He died in gunfire while assisting with the capture and arrest of members of the Bly Gang in 1890. Tommy Craig Bokegway Anderson, a Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member and descendant of Pete Anderson, continues to search for the burial sites of Pete and his wife Julia in present-day Oklahoma.
The University of Oklahoma’s Ruggles Native American Music Series recently invited Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s women’s drumming group, De’Wegen Kwek (Our Women’s Drum), to share traditional and contemporary Potawatomi singing and drumming. De’Wegen Kwek was the first group comprised entirely of women to be featured in the Ruggles series.
As the global landscape of manufacturing shifts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Iron Horse Industrial Park sits at the cutting edge of the new world economy. The 700-acre rail-anchored Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) industrial park is on Native American trust land located at the crossroads of United States freight and rail transport. As 2022 ends, Iron Horse staff are pleased to report active international shipment, a manufacturing tenant preparing to begin hiring and production in the new year and major developments in their transport infrastructure.
The December 2022 Language Department update highlights ongoing efforts at shipping children’s books in Bodéwadmimwen to Tribal members, updating online offerings and increasing audio file resources.
A desire to serve citizens and improve his community inspired Patrol Officer Marcus Burris to seek a career in law enforcement. After joining the CPN Police Department in 2020, he continues to find fulfillment in community engagement and values the partnerships CPNPD has with other law enforcement in the area.
Selena Sims, FireLake Foods produce manager, is changing how we view produce. She thinks of produce “like art” by displaying each item in such a creative way that makes customers want to try something new.
To highlight some of the CPN Cultural Heritage Center’s archival holdings, the Hownikan is featuring photographs and family history of every founding Citizen Potawatomi family. Records show a long legacy of public service in the Johnson family history.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation District 7 Legislator Mark Johnson spent more than 40 years as a firefighter in California. In early September 2022, Fresno County named him the recipient of the Public Safety Hero Award as one of the 2022 State of the County Front Line Hero Honorees for his leadership at Shaver Lake, which was nearly destroyed by the fifth-largest fire in California history in 2020.