In February of 1996, Citizen Potawatomi members from across the United States cast their vote during a special secretarial election to officially change the tribe’s name from “The Citizen Band Potawatomi Tribe of Oklahoma” to “The Citizen Potawatomi Nation” to reflect its status as a sovereign nation. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior authorized the special election, which differed from …
Rural Water District 3, which serves 60 percent of the Pottawatomie County’s geographic area, including the municipalities of Asher, Wanette and Dale, is the only Tribal-owned enterprise that is a public utility. It began serving the region in 1997, however, the district was in dire economic straights when the Tribe took over in October 2007. Since then, the district’s water …
Paul Schmidlkofer is a native of Shawnee, Oklahoma and descendant of the Tescier and Greemore families on his grandmother’s side. He has served as the legislator for District 12 since June 2008, following the 2007 CPN constitution ratification to include representation for the entire United States. As a military child, Schmidlkofer was born at Altus Air Force Base in Altus, …
The pattern of annual migration across an area’s ecological zones to secure the variety of food and household goods that fulfill social-economic and cultural needs. The Seasonal Rounds of the Potawatomi refers to the pattern of annual migration across the local landscape’s ecological zones to harvest plants and animals that feed, heal, and are useful to the Potawatomi people (Steen-Adams, …
Segnak was a warrior from Illinois and son of a powerful headman among the Milwaukee villages. In 1808, Segnak was personally invited to meet President Thomas Jefferson to discuss peace among Natives and settlers. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, known for his victories at Fort Dearborn and Frenchtown. After the war, Segnak was interested in making …
Tobacco is the most revered and powerful of all the medicine plants and considered a gift from Mamogosnan [Creator]. It is used for protection and its smoke carries thoughts and prayers to the Creator.
Shissahecon was a respected headman and warrior among the St. Joseph Potawatomi. He was the son of famed leader Nanaquiba and brother to Topinabee and Chebass. Active in tribal affairs, he signed the 1795 peace Treaty of Greenville and was among many who opposed American encroachment and the sale of Native lands. In 1838, Shissahecon and his family were among …
2.75in L x 2.5in W x 1.5in H The wristbands were crafted by professional silver worker and tribal member Bill Madole. Engraved in each is a turtle, expressing the importance of the turtle in Potawatomi culture. The wristbands are on loan from Bill Madole and on exhibition at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center.
The Siege of Fort Detroit, led by famed Odawa leader Bondiyak [Pontiac], was a five-month long siege in the summer and fall of 1763 of the former French settlement Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit. After the fort’s transition to British control at the end of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), Pontiac, like many Native peoples in the …
The Siege of Fort Pitt was an extension of the conflict known as “Pontiac’s War” and began amid the Siege of Fort Detroit earlier in May, 1763. Lasting roughly two months, the rising tensions between Native communities and the British gripping the region erupted in a short-lived siege of Fort Pitt in what is present day Pittsburgh. As Native communities …