With almost two decades of experience, Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member and Smith family descendant, Kortni Torralba was named one of 12 finalists for 2022 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. She brings a unique skill set and outlook to her position as a therapeutic educator at Moore Alternative School and Treatment.
Each year, AARP awards Native American elders for their contributions to the improvement of their tribes and communities. Citizen Potawatomi Nation member and Emergency Management Department Director Tim Zientek was chosen in 2021 as one of 47 elders recognized for his “achievements, community service and impact,” according to the organization.
After watching several businesses start and fail during his two decades in information technology, Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Randy Haas realized their success depended much more on communication and leadership than skills and strategy. He began an Oklahoma City-based information technology company in 2018, Sharpstone Group, LLC. Haas then added Stonecutters Leadership as a communication branch that focuses on leadership training and team management.
CPN Language Department Director Justin Neely gives a language update for February 2022 which discusses course work at Shawnee Middle School and teaching at the CPN Child development center.
After moving to New York City in 2017, professional photographer and artist Bo Apitz achieved a milestone. A shop in Manhattan displayed his work in October 2021, a first for Apitz. He used several photos of Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal members he took while he was a CPN employee between 2014 and 2017. The series featured lenticular prints, which use two photos to create an illusion of depth and flip between pictures as the viewer’s angle changes. Apitz’s subjects seem to dance or blink.
Kristen Arambula Hernandez, a birth doula and Indigenous breastfeeding counselor in Norman, Oklahoma, emphasizes the importance of reclaiming Tribal knowledge and tradition surrounding birth, breastfeeding and raising children.
In 2021, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s FireLake Discount Foods joined a group of Oklahoma grocers that began accepting online purchases through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
January is designated as National Stalking Awareness Month. This January, House of Hope will be hosting a free event for the public that will focus on the dynamics of stalking and how to work with those affected by this crime. The event will be held on January 18 at 1 p.m. and located at CPN’s North Reunion Hall.
Student-athletes at a Pottawatomie County high school will enhance their competitive edge, thanks to an athletic equipment donation from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s FireLake Wellness Center.
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.