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, …

One of the eldest representatives on the Citizen Potawatomi Legislature, Kansas City, Missouri’s Roy Slavin saw the vast changes Native Americans have gone through in the 20 and 21st centuries. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Roy and Irene Slavin in 1933. He began representing Citizen Potawatomi Nation District 1 in August 2007 CPN constitutional revision, which created …

D. Wayne Trousdale is the elected Secretary-Treasurer for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a position he has held for nearly two decades. The Secretary-Treasurer serves within the Executive Branch of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, which also includes the offices of Chairman and Vice Chairman. He is a native of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, and a graduate of Pauls Valley High School. He …

Potawatomi Family: Bourbonnais (Francois/Catish) Andrew Thomas Walters began work with the City of Oak Ridge North Police Department in Texas in 1988 and was promoted from investigator to lieutenant during his time. In 1999, the mayor asked him to become chief of police, a title he held for the next two decades. As chief, he acted as liaison with local, …

Paul Chrisstarlon Wesselhöft is a fifth-generation Oklahoman and descendant of Chief Abram Burnett, known for leading the Potawatomi through the turbulent 1860s. His Potawatomi name is Naganit, meaning, “Leader.” He has served as the legislator for District 9 since March 2007. An ordained Southern Baptist minister who spent nearly two decades as a U.S. Army Chaplain, Representative Paul Wesselhöft also …

Bob Whistler has served as the legislator for District 3 since 2008, when the CPN constitution was ratified to include representation for the entire United States. His Potawatomi name is Bmashi, “He Soars.” Although born in Cushing, Oklahoma, the Bourassa descendant grew up in San Diego, California, from the age of 3. He graduated from Arkansas City High School in …