Haaland’s Interior nomination heralds change in cabinet appointments

The Biden administration’s choice of Congresswoman Deb Haaland was historic in terms of nominating an enrolled tribal citizen to a full cabinet position. If confirmed by the Senate, the Laguna Pueblo citizen would be the first Native American to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Keeping it ultra-cold: CPNHS rolls out COVID-19 vaccines

Within days of emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services began receiving and administering vaccines to combat the coronavirus in central Oklahoma.

Health care training built to improve dementia patient care

OU Health invited representatives from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation along with Indian Health Services and a handful of other Oklahoma tribes to help shape the curriculum for training efforts to improve dementia patient care overseen by the Oklahoma Dementia Care Network.

Hownikan Podcast: January 2021

We’ll hear information regarding CPN Health Services COVID-19 vaccine distribution and the 5 love languages for kids and families. Also, a Tribal member who is an author and radio show host talks about his recently found spirituality.

Kchemko gises — Big Bear Moon — at the CPN Eagle Aviary

During this time, many of the CPN Eagle Aviary residents are building nests, and the pairs there have become more territorial and vocal while defending their space. Everyone’s appetite has increased. Many times, they forecast the weather better than the local meteorologists.

Bruno family history

Each month leading up to June, the Hownikan will feature the history and background of each scheduled honored family selected for the 2021 Family Reunion Festival, including the Bruno, Darling, Hardin, Higbee, Lewis, Nadeau, Slavin and Smith families. The first in this series is the Bruno family. Like many French-Canadian settlers with ties to the Potawatomi, the Brunos were once successful fur traders and trappers.

Support from FireLodge comforts new foster parent

While many potential foster parent applicants hesitated during 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tribal member Lacey Buettner opened up her home for the first time. After working with FireLodge Children & Family Services, she felt confident in stepping up to the task.

Higbee descendant brings talent, charisma to language department

Attending Family Reunion Festival as a child exposed Ragan Marsee to Bodéwadmimwen for the first time, which inspired her to connect with her Potawatomi culture and language. Today, she serves in the CPN Language Department as an aid, teaching students Bodéwadmimwen.

Food allergen diagnosis brings relief

Despite diagnoses increasing by 377 percent between 2007 and 2016, demographic data on the roughly 32 million food allergy patients is limited. However, according to a study published in March 2020 of more than 23 million children nationwide receiving Medicaid benefits, Native American children were 24 percent less likely than their white peers to have a diagnosed food allergy.

WIC programs uplift families

CPN’s Women, Infant and Children’s programs found new and innovative ways to continue serving clients across 7 counties in central OK during the pandemic. WIC assists more than 1,400 individuals each month, providing access to nutritious foods & education to low & moderate-income clients.