50in L x 21in W x 21in D The wedding dress was worn by tribal member Mary Anderson when she married Antoine Bourbonnais around 1855. The dress is made of leather and decorated with beadwork and tapestry. The mjegode’ [wedding dress] is part of the permanent collection and on exhibition at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center.
63.5in L x 2.5in H x 1.25in W The long bow was crafted by tribal member Thomas Melot in the 1930s from wood known as Bois d’arc or commonly Osage orange. The mtegwab [bow] is over five feet in length and has a central grip. The bow is part of the permanent collection and on exhibition at the Citizen Potawatomi …
Born on the Kansas River Reservation, Stephen Negahnquet quickly rose to become a community fixture in Kansas. After the Treaty of 1867, he removed with his family to Indian Territory and was allotted several sections of land. He is listed on the 1872 Citizen Potawatomi allotment census as well as recorded first on the 1887 Dawes allotment census. On the …
In the wake of the Land Rush, greater numbers of settlers were living in the Indian-Oklahoma Territories than ever before. Calls from these settlers soon followed for the territory to be admitted into the Unites States, relying on the inclusion of Kansas in 1861 and Arkansas earlier in 1836 as precedence. At the same time Oklahoma Territory vied for inclusion, …
By the late-19th century, more settlers than ever flooded into the Indian and Oklahoma Territories. With the first of the land runs occurring in 1889, greater numbers of settlers were staking a claim to “Unoccupied Lands” west of Indian Territory. Amid the increase in white settlement, Congress began discussions about establishing a new territory to encompass the rising population of …
Until the mid-1800’s, the region later known as “Oklahoma” was called home by the Quapaw, Caddo, Osage, Waco, Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche peoples, among others. As the United States’ border shifted further west, greater numbers of settlers sought out more “unoccupied” lands in these region beyond America’s eastern boundary. Settlement by non-Indians was later stimulated through Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 Homestead …
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.
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.
An EF-4 tornado struck the Little Axe and Shawnee Twin Lakes area on May 19, 2013, damaging hundreds of homes and leaving many families without a place to live. Pottawatomie County residents and those from surrounding areas flooded local aid relief agencies to pitch in on recovery. The F-5 tornado that wiped out parts of south Oklahoma City and Moore …
Sage and its smoke are used for purification. This medicine is for ceremonies to purify the environment and those in attendance.