Navarre family descendant Carson Capps just completed his term as a state officer with the Oklahoma FFA. As one of eight state officers, he represented the interests of more than 28,000 FFA members across the state. He values the leadership opportunities, career possibilities and support system he has found through the FFA.
In May 2022, the much-anticipated film adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon shot one final scene at the Osage Nation campus in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. CPN Housing Director and Osage Nation tribal member Scott George composed one of the songs used in the shoot.
Through a partnership with Google Arts & Culture and the CPN Language Department, Bodéwadmimwen is one of the languages available on Woolaroo, an online platform that allows users to take a picture of common plants, animals, items and more and hear the Potawatomi word for it played back to them.
Potawatomi physician Dr. Thomas Lewis and his wife, Dr. Stephanie Lewis, recently climbed to the Mt. Everest base camp in Nepal, leaving a CPN flag at the highest settlement in the world and coming away with a new sense of connection to their heritage.
The Basketball League honored the Potawatomi Fire with two awards at the conclusion of their successful 2022 inaugural season. The Fire received the Jim Koch Award for Team Market of the Year. The Fire Dance Team, under the direction of Aonisty Parks, also received the Dance Team of the Year Award from TBL.
Parents want what is best for their children, but knowing how to provide that sometimes can be tough. Here at the House of Hope, we offer parenting classes at no charge to those in the community who either need or desire such classes. The class goes over many different topics and can be helpful for parents or guardians with children at all stages of adolescence.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member and Piedmont High School junior Shelby Grove was awarded a 2022 State Superintendent Award for Arts Excellence in Visual Arts for her work, “Tools,” which showcases her skills in shading and expresses her experience of change during the coronavirus pandemic.
The August 2022 CPN Veterans Organization update highlights new membership, opportunities for Color Guard and Honor Guard presentations, and upcoming meetings.
Earlier this year, Citizen Potawatomi Nation District 12 Legislator Paul Schmidlkofer spent several weeks working on the set of the Peabody Awards-winning show Reservation Dogs as they filmed season two. The comedy-drama created by Seminole Nation citizen Sterlin Harjo tells the story of four Indigenous teenagers growing up in rural Oklahoma and their efforts to determine their futures.
On June 17, 2022, Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the Dunbar Heights Community of Shawnee, Oklahoma, held a VIP reception in honor of Juneteenth. The partnership works to acknowledge the historical ties between Native tribes and slavery, repair the historical divides between Native American and Black communities, and pave the way toward a more just and equitable future.