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.
The Tribe’s partnership with the county on critical area infrastructure recently brought phase one of an improvement project on Hardesty Road to completion.
Following a career of activism leading to the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday, Opal Lee’s next project is a National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth, TX. Keen to tell the story of emancipation from every perspective, Lee visited Tribal headquarters in August to discuss the unique history of slavery and emancipation in Indian Territory.
The CPN House of Hope held their very first Color Fun Run last month to kick off National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The 1K race provided information to participants about what domestic violence is, who is affected, and what services can be offered to provide safety and prevent future abuse.
Comma, a CPCDC-supported business formerly known as The Gathering Place Coffee Co., has re-launched their brand with a new name that better reflects their mission: to provide a space that helps people pause during their day.
CPN Workforce Development and Social Services’ Andrea Smiley and Stephanie McElfresh work together to bring CPN’s LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program) benefits to local families. The program served 250 households during the 2022 cooling season.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Cultural Heritage Center hosted a blanket healing exercise for education professionals in the area. The purpose of the NIEA training is to foster truth, understanding, respect and reconciliation among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Bourassa descendant Ty McBride and his sister Jimmie Hodgkins use the latest technology and draw on their grandfather’s teachings to repair homes in cost effective and environmentally friendly ways.
From Sept. 4 to Nov. 4, 1838, the United States forcibly removed a band of 859 Potawatomi and marched them from northern Indiana to present-day Kansas. A caravan in remembrance of this history is held every five years to honor victims and survivors. The next observance will be in 2023, said Janet A. Pearl, member-at-large, Potawatomi Trail of Death Association.
Parents want what is best for their children, but knowing how to provide that sometimes can be tough. Here at the House of Hope, we offer parenting classes at no charge to those in the community who either need or desire such classes. The class goes over many different topics and can be helpful for parents or guardians with children at all stages of adolescence.