Following a series of severe storms in southeastern Oklahoma this May, CPN’s Emergency Management, FireLake Discount Foods, Health Services, Workforce Development and Social Services, and Grand Casino Hotel & Resort all mobilized to partner with nonprofit aid groups and the affected communities to respond to the disaster.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation House of Hope was able to host the Know More Do More: Identifying & Responding to Stalking event this past May for local service providers from around the state. The organization was excited to partner up with the National Stalking Prevention Awareness and Resource Center, or SPARC, to bring information to local law enforcement, family and victim advocates, mental health professionals, medical staff, and social service professionals.
In celebration of Earth Day, central Oklahoma’s Pioneer Library System hosted a community event focused on pollinators at Boy Scout Park in Shawnee. Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member and PLS programming specialist Britt Muirhead organized the family activities; they included a meet-and-greet with the author and a presentation from Okies for Monarchs, an initiative to create and implement the Statewide Monarch Conservation Plan.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services hosted a community overdose awareness event in May 2022 to increase the public’s understanding of the recent uptick in fentanyl overdoses, sometimes referred to as “the silent crisis.” CPNHS and event organizers welcomed approximately 10 groups and resource centers to discuss fentanyl overdoses as well as addiction treatment, therapy, preventative action during fentanyl overdoses and more.
The annual Family Reunion Festival is part of a 50-year history of celebrations held at CPN grounds — but the Festival of today looks much different than when it began as the Potawatomi Intertribal Powwow in 1972. This article tells how Family Reunion Festival came to be.
Extending a trip to Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Family Reunion Festival presents the perfect opportunity to explore the greater Oklahoma City metro area, and CPN is close to it all.
This episode focuses on Behavioral Health Awareness Month and the societal stigma of having behavioral health issues. We also meet the only Citizen Potawatomi Nation member serving in the Oklahoma legislature and hear about a study on tribal economic impact in Oklahoma.
As Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s new professional basketball team, the Potawatomi Fire, plays its debut season with The Basketball League, three dance teams packed with local talent perform by their sides. Tribal member and Toupin family descendant Piper Whitecotton is a member of the Heat, the Fire’s high school aged hip-hop dance team.
In a time of fast fashion when customers often wear runway-inspired items a few times and discard them, many Indigenous designers and producers focus on creating unique pieces that stand the test of trends. Designer Leslie Deer, who is also the Cultural Activities Coordinator at CPN’s Cultural Heritage Center, prefers to make timeless pieces.
When it comes to caring for area foster children, one Shawnee, Oklahoma, family makes community the priority. Brit and Amber Hembree provide guidance and support for children in their greatest time of need as foster parents through Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s FireLodge Children and Family Services.