The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Department of Education began composing lesson plans about Potawatomi history in 2021. The first one tells the story of the Potawatomi Trail of Death.
Alan Melot became Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s District 1 legislator in September 2021. He lives in Joplin, Missouri, with his wife Stephanie and works as a licensed clinical psychologist.
By coincidence in casual conversation at a fall CPN Veterans meeting here in Shawnee, Oklahoma, three couples found out that they had all been married in the same month 50 years ago. Their wedding dates were within 17 days of each other that very month.
The team behind the Hownikan consists of Tribal members and non-Citizen Potawatomi — some former journalists, others from different professional backgrounds. In recent years, CPN’s newspaper and its ancillary content have won numerous awards at state and national competitions.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation opened its flagship enterprise in 2006, welcoming visitors to the FireLake Grand Casino with 125,000 square feet of gaming. It turned 15 in 2021, and the last decade and a half brought many changes, including a renaming in 2012. The Grand Casino Hotel & Resort is now a one-stop-shop for fun off I-40.
Apps like TikTok and Instagram allow users to capture every moment of their day, sharing those with the world. This does not come without a price. Once uploaded, these images are irreversible and can be used as a form of power and control against a person.
The Pioneer Library System of central Oklahoma donates books to Women, Infants, and Children programs, including Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services. Tribal member Britt Muirhead leads the initiative as the programming specialist for PLS.
2021 brought productivity and uplifting news from CPN. Big developments ranged from new ways for Tribal members to connect digitally to an impactful agreement between local governments to improve the community’s future.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Cultural Heritage Center received recognition as one of the top 10 Model Museum/Cultural Centers by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums in 2020. The CHC also won numerous Oklahoma Museum Association awards in 2021.
Kiowa artist Burt Patadal has made many ceramic pieces throughout the last 30 years. Patadal also serves as the re-entry and diversionary lead counselor for the CPN Workforce Development & Social Services’ Tribal Re-entry Program.