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.
Many people view owning a strong, fruitful business as the epitome of success. December is National Write a Business Plan Month, and Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation staff look forward to helping Native Americans begin the journey of becoming business owners through resources and assessments – including tips on how to write a strong business plan.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation received a $60,000 Tribal Heritage Grant to pursue research and restoration at the historic and sacred site of Uniontown Cemetery near Rossville, Kansas. The funds will be used to repair crumbling stone walls and gravestones at the cemetery and to conduct ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys of the area to confirm the location of a mass burial site where several Potawatomi ancestors are believed to have been buried following a cholera outbreak at Uniontown in 1849.
This month’s Executive and Legislative columns discuss the stakes of the on-going U.S. Supreme Court case, Brackeen v. Haaland; the Nation’s impact in the local community; recent District meetings; and thoughts and well wishes for the new year.
The Tribe’s partnership with the county on critical area infrastructure recently brought phase one of an improvement project on Hardesty Road to completion.
Environmental studies and sciences professor Barbara Wall loves, researches and teaches about water from an Indigenous perspective.
The December 2022 Veterans Report highlights a growing CPN Veterans Organization membership and the December 6 Christmas Dinner.
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 Citizen Potawatomi Nation House of Hope received a $200,000 federal grant to help raise community awareness about domestic violence. It was one of only five programs in Oklahoma to receive the U.S. Indian Health Service funds.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s FireLodge Children & Family Services welcomed DeAnna Voeks as its new foster care and adoption specialist in June 2022.