A discussion at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Family Reunion Festival has motivated members of the Tescier family to ensure that Potawatomi history is included in a Harrah, Oklahoma, historical society’s museum. The land for the town’s original site was donated by Tribal member Louis Navarre, who was first to arrive at his allotment in the 1870s.
The February 2024 update from the CPN Language Department highlights a new beginner class starting on March 5, and the upcoming Winter Storytelling event on March 13.
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. The Hardin family has a long history of service to the Nation, through elected and volunteer leadership, military service, trades and more.
The earliest communities in what would become Oklahoma were born from the hard work and generosity of families like the Darlings. The Hownikan traces Darling family history through archival records at the CHC.
Officials with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and Tribal members from across the country met in Indiana and retraced the steps their ancestors took in 1838 when the Potawatomi were forced to leave their Indiana homelands and march to a reservation in Kansas.
Every year at the CPN Family Reunion Festival, the Nation honors a group of families that moved to Oklahoma and eventually formed the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The 2024 Honored Families are Darling, Hardin, Higbee, Levier, Lewis, Nadeau, Negahnquet, Pambogo and Smith.
To highlight some of the Cultural Heritage Center archive holdings, the Hownikan is featuring photographs and family history of every founding Citizen Potawatomi family. The Tescier family ancestors were front row witnesses to history and the birth of what would become Oklahoma. They lived through the Land Run, endured the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, and have served as elected officials of the CPN government and holders of cultural teachings over many generations.
The Young family was among the many Potawatomi who decided to become U.S. citizens and receive plots of allotted land in Indian Territory through the Treaty of 1867. They moved to Indian Territory in 1871 and settled in the community of Pleasant Prairie, which was established 5 miles northwest of present-day Wanette. Later, the Youngs would move to their allotment near Oberlin.
The Welds were among the families who made the difficult decision to leave Kansas to carve out a new life for themselves and future generations on the plains of Indian Territory in the late 1890s. Despite the hardships, the Weld children would persevere.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center began 2023 under new leadership. Blake Norton took over the position as director of the CHC and tribal historic preservation officer (THPO), and Keisha Wolf signed on as assistant director. They each spoke with the Hownikan about their roles and plans for the future of the CHC.