Services
College and Graduate School Scholarships for Native Students
There is a wealth of scholarship funding out there for Native students, and the CPN's Education Department is committed to helping CPN students and their families identify the best opportunities. You can contact the CPN Department of Education by email at college@potawatomi.org or by phone at 405-275-3121. And you can learn more online here.
CPN Language Learning
The Nation continues to focus on teaching our language, through online instruction and development and distribution of materials. Among the materials Director Justin Neely and his team have developed is a compilation of some 30 cultural teachings videos which are delightful and incredibly informative. You can access the most up to date language resources here. Another resource is a 24-page handout titled Conversational Potawatomi, accessible here. Migwetch/thank you to Justin Neely and his team for their work in helping us learn our language and keep it vital for the next generations.
CPN History and Native Heritage: Family History Research Resources
In March 2021 I hosted a virtual meeting with knowledgeable presenters on the topic of family research. I am so grateful for their assistance, and happy that I can share the following resources, which you may find helpful as you explore your own family's roots. Please share with family members! First, CPN Family History Researcher Czarina Thompson prepared a valuable PowerPoint for the group, focused on Potawatomi heritage research resources and source materials; it is available here. Czarina's meeting remarks are available here. In addition, CPN Citizen Dennis Johnson prepared and presented a PowerPoint guide to family research, titled May Your Moccasins Walk the Footsteps of Your Ancestors. The PowerPoint is here, and you can access organizational documents Dennis discusses -- an Ancestral Chart, available here, and a Family Group Record, available here. Dennis's presentation during the virtual meeting can be viewed here. Chairman John A. "Rocky" Barrett also shared his own family history during the meeting; his remarks are available here.Indigenous Subjects and Potawatomi History: Library Holdings
I've been collecting books on Indigenous subjects and Potawatomi history for a lot of years. With my college son Marshall Cohen's help during the Summer of 2012 I have an alphabetical-by-author listing of books. I've kept it up and the books I've collected are ready for you to borrow if you agree to return them for others to use too! The list is current as of January 2023. Please give me a call or send me an email if there is a particular book on this list that you'd like to borrow. I can check it out to you and mail it to you on your promise that you will send it back.
CPN Benefits
The Nation offers our people a number of benefits -- some are age- or need-dependent, some are not. Our Nation's website, www.potawatomi.org, under "Services," provides links to The Tribal Rolls Office, CPN Health Services, our Housing Department, Elder Services, and much more. Please visit there to determine if you meet the criteria to apply for scholarships, housing assistance, our mail order pharmacy services, burial cost assistance, and the Health Aids Program, among other services and benefits, and for the relevant forms or office staff to contact.
The most recent benefit made available to all enrolled Tribal citizens and their households is CPN Care. Services include 24/7 telemedicine, life assistance, discount prescriptions, and a medical bill review. To get started you must activate your benefit by logging into the CPN Portal. Once you've activated the benefit you will receive a confirmation and registration instructions. CPN's website says: "please allow 24-72 hours for processing." Our Hownikan routinely provides in-depth coverage of the various CPN service departments and benefits, so please be sure to read it monthly. If you are a Tribal member and do not receive the monthly paper, please contact Tribal Rolls at 800-880-9880 to update your address information. You also can read the paper online monthly.Indian Health Service Funded Facilities
Health and Dental Care Available at No- to Low-Cost
CPN-enrolled members are eligible to receive health services from certain federally-funded Indian health clinics and tribal-funded clinics if they live in the area served by them. Note: CPN members should contact CPN Tribal Rolls Director Charles Clark for new or replacement CPN membership cards at cclark@potawatomi.org or by phone at 405-878-5835 or 800-880-9880. If you are told you don't qualify for the services offered, or that you don't have the right identification to receive services, Amber Brewer from the CPN Health Aids Foundation may be able to help clarify. Please get the name and phone number of the person you speak with and then contact Ms. Brewer at 405-275-3121 or arbrewer@potawatomi.org. I may also be able to help, so please don't hesitate to contact me.
The most current means of finding health services in your area is to visit the following webpage: www.ihs.gov/forpatients/findhealthcare/. Here, by typing in your address, you can find any nearby federally-funded Indian health clinics and tribal-funded clinics.
Please also note that all Citizen Potawatomi can receive services at our Health Clinics in Shawnee -- we have laboratory, x-ray and dental facilities, and offer a full range of behavioral health services as well. The East Clinic is at 2307 South Gordon Cooper Drive, Shawnee, OK 74801, Phone: 405-273-5236, Appointment Desk: 405-878-4693, Fax: 405-878-4835. Our West Clinic is located at 781 Grand Casino Blvd., Shawnee, OK 74804, Phone: 405-964-5770, Fax: 405-964-5788. Visits are without cost but if tests or referrals need to be done or made at other contract facilities you should expect to pay out of pocket for these. And please be aware that enrolled Citizen Potawatomi who live anywhere in the country and are either 63 years old or better OR are totally disabled may qualify to receive prescription medications through a mail order program at NO COST. The program is called C-MOP. Contact information about our Clinics and more information about the C-MOP prescription program is available on the Nation's website, www.potawatomi.org, under "Services."
In all cases, please be sure to call ahead to confirm your eligibility for the services you need, and to make an appointment, and bring the identification that is required so you won't be turned away for lack of documentation.
Behavioral/Mental Health Services
CPN has a behavioral health program. If a tribal member is struggling with suicidal thoughts or any behavioral health issue, help is available through the CPN Behavioral Health. A person can self-refer or be referred by their primary care provider. The CPN Behavioral Health program provides crisis intervention and individual, couples and family therapy and psychiatry. It also offers groups to reduce substance abuse and has a smoking cessation class. The Behavioral Health program's number is 405-214-5101. And please remember that help also is available 24 hours a day by calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-522-9054.
1. CPN members living outside of the Shawnee area can go to another tribal facility or Indian Health Services facility for behavioral health services. You can view these facilities, using your address, via: www.ihs.gov/forpatients/findhealthcare/
2. If there is no tribal or IHS facility available (something that is the case in most of the states making up District #2, I know) and the CPN member has no insurance, there may be a community mental health center in the area that will provide care at no or low cost. Most states have a Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, which is another service provider to contact. Those with insurance are in a position to contact a local provider who accepts that insurance. And don't overlook that, if one is employed, many employers offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). CPN itself offers this to its employees.
Please also use this link to identify treatment services in your local area: findtreatment.samhsa.gov