Citizen Potawatomi Nation is a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

of Potawatomi people located in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. The Potawatomi are traditionally an Algonquian-speaking Eastern Woodlands tribe. They have 29,155 enrolled tribal members, of whom 10,312 live in the state of Oklahoma.

Government

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is headquartered in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Their tribal jurisdictional area is in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and Pottawatomie Counties, Oklahoma. Of the 37,264 enrolled members, 10,312 live within the state of Oklahoma. They have their housing authority and issue tribal vehicle tags. Enrollment in the tribe is based on lineal descent; that is to say, the tribe has no minimum blood quantum.

Current administration

Executive Branch: *Chairman: John A. Barrett *Vice Chairman: Linda Capps *Secretary/Treasurer: D. Wayne Trousdale Legislative Branch: *District #1: Alan Melot, Joplin, MO *District #2: Eva Marie Carney, Arlington, VA *District #3: Robert Whistler, Bedford, TX *District #4: Jon Boursaw, Topeka, KS *District #5: Gene Lambert, Mesa, AZ *District #6: Rande Payne, Visalia, CA *District #7: Mark Johnson, Fresno, CA *District #8: Dave Carney, Olympia, WA *District #9: Paul Wesselhoft, Moore, OK *District #10: David Barrett, Shawnee, OK *District #11: Andy Walters, Shawnee, OK *District #12: Paul Schmidlkofer, Tecumseh, OK *District #13: Bobbie Bowden, Choctaw, OK

Economic development

They operate a truck stop, two gas stations, two smoke shops, a bingo hall, two tribal casinos, FireLake Discount Foods in Shawnee, FireLake Golf Course, and First National Bank and Trust, with two locations in Shawnee, one in Holdenville, two in Lawton, and three in communities surrounding Lawton. Their estimated annual economic impact in 2011 was $422.4 million. In March 2023 the nation was preparing the launch of tribal-owned Sovereign Pipe Technologies, LLC., an HDPE pipe manufacturer, being the first business located at the tribe's 700-acre industrial park called Iron Horse. The industrial park, located about 35 minutes west of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

near Shawnee, is less than 10 miles from

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

and has a connection to the national rail network through the Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad (AOK).

Culture

In January 2006, the tribe opened its extensive Citizen Potawatomi Nation Museum and Cultural Heritage Center in Shawnee. The building houses the nation's research library, archives, genealogy research center, veteran's Wall of Honor, exhibit and meeting space, and a museum store. The tribe's annual intertribal

powwow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native Americans in the United States, Native American and First Nations in Canada, First Nations communities. Inaugurated in 1923, powwows today are an opportunity fo ...

is no longer held. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation's Family Reunion Festival is held on the final Saturday of June each year. It attracts about 5,000 CPN members and their family members for a variety of cultural and other activities over a three-day period.

History

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is the successor apparent to the Mission Band of Potawatomi Indians, located originally in the

Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...

valley of

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. With the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...

after the

1833 Treaty of Chicago The 1833 Treaty of Chicago was an agreement between the United States government and the Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi tribes. It required them to cede to the United States government their of land (including reservations) in Illinois, ...

, the Mission Band was forced to march to a new reserve in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Of the 850 Potawatomi people forced to move, more than 40 died along the way. The event is known in Potawatomi history as the Potawatomi Trail of Death. In Kansas, the Mission Band of Potawatomi lived on a small reserve with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. The Prairie Band had adapted to the Plains culture but the Mission Band remained steadfast to the Woodlands culture. The two groups exhibited very different ceremonial and subsistence strategies, yet were forced to share the land. Seeking a better opportunity for their people, the Mission Band leaders chose to take small farms rather than live together with the Prairie Band. Shortly thereafter, with the Potawatomi not fully understanding the tax system, most of the new individual allotments of land passed out of Mission Band ownership and into the hands of white settlers and traders. In 1867, Mission Potawatomi members signed a treaty selling their Kansas lands in order to purchase lands in

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

with the proceeds. To reinforce the new land purchase and learning from their Kansas experience, tribal members took U.S. citizenship. From that time on, they became known as the Citizen Potawatomi. By the early 1870s, most of the Citizen Potawatomi had resettled in Indian Territory, present-day

, forming several communities near present-day Shawnee. In 1890, the Citizen Potawatomi participated, unwillingly, in the allotment process implemented through the Dawes Act of 1887. Under this Act, the Citizen Potawatomi people were forced to accept individual allotments again. In the Land Run of 1891, the remainder of the Potawatomi reservation in Oklahoma was opened up to non-Indian settlement, with the result that about of the reservation was given away by the government to settlers.

Notable tribal members

* Woody Crumbo (1912–1989), artist, flautist, dancer * Mary Killman (born 1991), Olympic synchronized swimmer * Robin Wall Kimmerer (born 1953), environmental scientist, educator, author * Tyler Bray (born 1991), an American football quarterback * Ron Baker (born 1993), retired basketball player * Kellie Coffey (born 1971), singer, songwriter, winner of Academy of Country Music Award for Top New Female in 2003 * Creed Humphrey (born 1999), All-Pro center for the Kansas City Chiefs * Veronica Cortez (born 2004), Miss Alaska for America in 2023 * Kyle Powys Whyte, Philosopher and environmental justice scholar * Angela R. Riley, chief justice of Citizen Potawatomi Nation (2010–present)

Notes

External links

Citizen Potawatomi Nation's official websiteCitizen Potawatomi Nation's Gaming Commission official websiteCitizen Potawatomi Nation's official election websiteCitizen Potawatomi Nation's official employment website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citizen Potawatomi Nation Great Lakes tribes Anishinaabe tribes Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in Oklahoma