More than just a car tag

Every time a tribal citizen registers a vehicle with the Cherokee Nation, they make an investment in public education and our young people. You see, our vehicle tags are more than just a pretty tag. By Cherokee Nation law, 38 percent of the revenues from our tag sales are earmarked specifically for public education. This year, thanks to our flourishing Motor Vehicle Tax program, Cherokee Nation is awarding a record-breaking $5.7 million to more than a hundred school districts in northeast Oklahoma.

Since 2002, Cherokee Nation has contributed more than $56 million to public education. Today, that investment in public education is more important than ever for the Cherokee Nation and the state of Oklahoma.

More tribal car tag revenue means we are able to serve more students. When we expanded the sale of Cherokee Nation tags statewide to all 77 Oklahoma counties in 2013, we knew the school systems in northeastern Oklahoma would reap the benefits. Indeed, it has proven to be an essential component of their annual budgets for many schools here.

Supporting local school districts is important to the Cherokee Nation’s long-term success. These partnerships with schools represent our investment for the future of our great state and our tribal government. Our tribal funding comes with no strings attached and is not earmarked for specific budget items, so every pupil benefits. This means we are helping area students in our local schools, regardless of whether they are Cherokee.

For Cherokee people, embracing education has always been a community value. It creates hope for a better future for our children and the generations to come. I come from a long line of teachers and administrators devoted to learning. My family’s background helped build a foundation and reinforced an ideal that I have embraced as a public servant: Supporting access to educational programs is the best investment we can ever make as a sovereign tribal government. Over the last several years, public education in Oklahoma has taken numerous financial hits and the proceeds from Cherokee car tags allow us to help fill in the gaps in school budgets.

I am extremely proud of the many ways our region benefits from these revenues. The Cherokee Nation Motor Vehicle Tax program not only saves our people money on their car tags and instills Cherokee pride, it also has a positive and lasting impact in our communities and schools. With every vehicle registered, we are investing in our children, in our families, and in our future as Cherokees and Oklahomans.

Read More

New Cherokee Nation Film Office will promote region

Telling the Cherokee story – our history, our heritage – is a skill that our people have passed down from one generation to the next. Storytelling is a cornerstone of our culture. That’s why I am so proud we have launched the Cherokee Nation Film Office. It will promote northeastern Oklahoma while cultivating Native filmmaking. The office will provide much-needed cultural and historical consultation on film projects, ensuring our stories are told with cultural sensitivity and accuracy. And it will serve as a way to develop a database of Cherokee Nation locations for film shoots, resources and talent. It’s a bold new endeavor to enhance an ancient tradition.

Our home state, especially in our northeast quadrant, has unlimited potential when it comes to American Indian filmmaking, including the authors, actors and technicians to build successful filmmakers, as well as its natural beauty, history and character. Cherokee Nation and other tribes in Oklahoma have already begun producing high-quality videos, television shows and movies. There is great potential to promote Oklahoma as a destination for aspiring and experienced filmmakers.

This is where the Cherokee Nation Film Office, a division of the Cherokee Nation Businesses Communications Department, will come into play, growing the burgeoning state film industry by promoting northeast Oklahoma and a new generation of talented artisans. The Emmy Award-winning TV program “Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People” has proven highly successful, laying the groundwork for this new venture’s launch. To kick things off, we will be creating our first feature-length documentary.
 
Additionally, we have a goal to help other filmmakers.

That means Native people telling Native stories. Cherokees telling Cherokee stories. At Cherokee Nation, we routinely work with individuals who fundamentally misunderstand Native Americans – who we are, our culture, our history and our modern identity. We know from these interactions that Native stories are best told by Native voices. As a result, five years ago we launched the production of “Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People,” and we discovered in the process that there are many Cherokees with a natural aptitude for filmmaking and storytelling, either behind the camera or in front it.

This brought home to us that there are many talented filmmakers, producers, directors and actors right here in the Cherokee Nation that are being under-utilized or not utilized at all. Our vision is to create an environment that nurtures these creative Cherokees.

The Cherokee Nation Film Office will collaborate with the Oklahoma Film + Music Office, the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts and Culture and other local film offices to leverage resources and talent. Areas of cooperation include providing local recommendations for crew and talent, coordinating site visits, and hosting filmmaking workshops and film festivals. We share the same goals and ambitions to enhance the attractiveness of Oklahoma’s budding film industry.

Cherokee Nation is one of the most beautiful areas of our state. It’s a natural fit as a filmmaking destination. Although California is still the entertainment capital of the world, other states have established themselves as film destinations. In recent years, major motion pictures and television series have been filmed in regional states like Texas, Georgia and Louisiana. We firmly believe it is now our time.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America, in 2016, Oklahoma’s film and television industry was responsible for 13,273 direct and indirect jobs and more than $220 million in wages. By contrast, Texas’ film and television industry was responsible 105,525 jobs and $1.81 billion in wages. Georgia’s impacts were 92,494 jobs and $2.15 billion in wages, while Louisiana’s numbers were 22,707 jobs and nearly $400 million in wages.

Numbers like these tell us there are genuine business and economic development opportunities to be pursued, and we are more than ready to meet the challenge. We have a passionate team committed to making this new industry successful for the Cherokee Nation, while furthering our mission of preserving Cherokee culture. We are excited about the new opportunities the Cherokee Nation Film Office will bring.

For more information about the Cherokee Nation Film Office, visit www.cherokee.film.

Read More

Cherokee language board will play vital role in revitalization efforts

Part of my sworn oath as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation is to preserve, promote and advance the language and culture of the Cherokee Nation. We’ve seen some wonderful examples of that recently, including concentrated revitalization efforts for the Cherokee language. This week, we took another important step by creating a new Cherokee Language Advisory Board.


Cherokee language experts and speakers Durbin Feeling, Rosa Carter and Wyman Kirk will make up the inaugural board, and as this effort’s first members, they are charged with ensuring all of Cherokee Nation’s language programs and all the efforts to educate our citizens in our communities have a united vision, implementation method and mission. This coordination will enable all our language programs to synchronize, giving us better management, tracking and verification abilities.


Today, Cherokee Nation operates several language programs, including the Cherokee Translation Department, Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program, Cherokee Language Technology Program and the Cherokee Immersion School. The widespread success and recognition of these respected programs are a testament to the efforts and investments we have made into language programs.


The formation of the Cherokee Language Advisory Board is part of the tribe’s Native Language Community Coordination ANA Grant, received in 2016.


In addition to the creation of the advisory board, we will also develop a coordinated, standardized Cherokee language curriculum that will be available for each level of language learning. We also plan to establish a Cherokee Nation Cherokee Language Teacher Certification to solidify the standards of proficiency for those teaching Cherokee.


Through the execution of these new initiatives, prompted by the national grant, we can keep striving for our cultural preservation goal: Within 20 years, Cherokee communities are living, speaking and thinking in Cherokee and the Cherokee language is the first language of the Cherokee Nation.


Our Cherokee language is the most fundamental aspect of our culture as Cherokee people. That’s why we are developing more avenues and partnerships that will ensure the Cherokee language endures.  

Read More