New VA center in Sequoyah County expands health care capabilities in northeast Oklahoma

America’s veterans, including many Cherokee men and women, committed a portion of their lives to preserving our collective freedoms. They deserve the best possible health care we, as a country, can provide. I am proud the Oklahoma Veterans Commission recently selected the city of Sallisaw, a community in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, for a new state veterans center in Oklahoma. The planned veterans center in Sequoyah County will be located on a 90-acre plot on Sallisaw’s south side for easy accessibility. It will be a great complement to our...

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Saving our Cherokee language by identifying fluent speakers

Cherokee Nation is embarking on a huge undertaking: surveying our citizens for an accurate number of fluent Cherokee speakers. Knowing our baseline number of speakers is essential as we continue our aggressive work in Cherokee language revitalization. As of today, our Community & Cultural Outreach department has identified nearly 2,000 fluent speakers. Just a few years back, we estimated that number at about 4,000. We are losing our speakers at an incredibly rapid rate. Our Cherokee language is sacred, and we have an obligation to save it....

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Cherokee Nation Angel Project: A brighter holiday for children in need

All children deserve the joy of a bountiful Christmas morning and the experience of tearing open a gift especially selected and wrapped for them. As a father, grandfather and now great-grandfather, it is a tradition I never grow tired of watching. At the Cherokee Nation, we are blessed to have a wonderful program in place for low-income children that ensures they don’t miss out on that magical feeling on Christmas morning.   Cherokee Nation’s Angel Project is gearing up to serve thousands of children in need, allowing them the special...

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Remember the Removal Ride builds personal bonds and raises cultural awareness

There is no better education than first-hand experience and Cherokee Nation’s Remember the Removal Ride program is one of the most successful educational programs we have.   Each summer a group of young people from Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, North Carolina, team up and retrace on bicycle the Trail of Tears, our ancestors’ removal route from our homelands in the east to modern-day Oklahoma. This is a significant year, as we commemorate the 180th anniversary of the Trail of Tears.   This...

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The need for Cherokee foster families continues

The month of May is annually Foster Care Awareness Month across the globe, and at Cherokee Nation, we continue to recognize and celebrate the essential role strong families play in creating a secure foundation in our communities.  A safe family home provides the love, identity, self-esteem and support our Cherokee children need to grow into healthy and happy adults. At Cherokee Nation, we continue to address the issues that have the biggest impacts on our people, including educational opportunities, health care coverage, homeownership...

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New law incentivizes more home construction within Cherokee Nation’s 14 counties

Legislative success is an essential tool in maximizing the prosperity of Cherokee Nation.  Partnerships with federal, state and local entities enhance our ability to provide essential services to our citizens. At the state level, we were vocal advocates of House Bill 1334, a recently passed law authored by Cherokee Nation citizen and State Rep. Chuck Hoskin. HB1334 gives school districts with surplus, undeveloped land the ability to transfer that land to a tribal housing authority. This new law will enable tribal housing authorities, including...

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Addressing food insecurity for veterans in northeast Oklahoma

Cherokee Nation is steadfastly committed to our military veterans, those men and women who have sacrificed so much for our tribe, our country and our collective freedoms. Recently, we established a formal partnership with the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma to help ensure these real-life heroes do not suffer from hunger and food instability. Nobody in Oklahoma, especially a military veteran, should go hungry. This collaboration, which is the first time a tribal government has been involved with this local food bank program, means regular...

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Mental Health First Aid training helps with holistic care of our people

We all have someone close to us who battles illness or disease in one form or another. It is a challenge to be sure, but one area continues to be neglected by not receiving the attention it truly deserves: mental health. Mental health-related issues are frequently stigmatized, which prevents people from seeking and receiving the professional help they need. Undiagnosed and untreated mental illness can be devastating to those who suffer from it.     At Cherokee Nation, we know mental health is equally important as physical health...

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American Indian Center and Cultural Museum will be a boon for Oklahoma

The forthcoming American Indian Center and Cultural Museum in Oklahoma City will be a world-class facility and has tremendous potential for education, economic development and tourism purposes in Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation is proud to support AICCM and pleased to see it moving closer to opening. The heart of Indian Country will be home to one of America’s finest museums. Recently, I began serving a three-year term on the American Indian Cultural Center Foundation to help move this center of collective history and culture toward completion....

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Cherokee tribes will return to NMAI for 5th annual celebration of heritage and history

The Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians are again collaborating for the fifth annual Cherokee Days in Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. The three-day event is April 13-15. It is free to attend in person, and many of the educational and cultural offerings will be streamed live online. The annual celebration has grown into a special event for the Cherokee Nation, and it is typically one of NMAI’s most heavily trafficked weekends. The collaboration...

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Cherokee Nation fueling economic growth in northeast Oklahoma

Cherokee Nation’s impact within our 14-county jurisdiction in northeast Oklahoma is undeniable. Ask any public school superintendent, county commissioner or small-business owner. From funding public education, building new roads and bridges and supporting first responders, Cherokee Nation’s role as a leader is clearly defined and distinct. By far, one of the tribe’s largest impacts is on economic development and job creation. Cherokee Nation remains the engine that drives northeast Oklahoma economically. The tribe and its businesses currently...

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Community and Cultural Outreach Department successful in keeping citizens connected

The strength of the Cherokee Nation resides in our people. We are all Cherokees, whether we live inside or outside of our 14-county jurisdictional boundaries. Over the course of the past year, we have achieved many things that will improve the quality of life for our citizens. Those efforts can be seen today, and they will be felt for generations. We have created jobs, increased health care opportunities and invested in education like no other time in our history. One of the most important things we do is engage with our people locally at the...

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Raising wages for our teachers is the right thing to do

As the Chief of the Cherokee Nation and the son of public schoolteachers, it has troubled me to see the inaction at the state level as teachers across our great state struggle. The time for action is now, and Cherokee Nation is taking the lead by granting our certified teachers the pay raise they deserve. Recently, I proposed—and the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council approved—a lump sum payment of $5,000 to all certified teachers, effective immediately. Additionally, certified teacher pay will increase by $5,000, effective the beginning of...

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Cherokee National Youth Choir earns prestigious Governor's Arts Award

The Cherokee National Youth Choir recently won the Governor’s Arts Award. It is the most prestigious arts award in the state of Oklahoma. It was my honor to nominate the Cherokee National Youth Choir for the Community Service Award from the Oklahoma Arts Council, an award annually issued by the governor. This particular honor recognizes Oklahoma individuals or groups for significant contributions to the arts in the areas of leadership and volunteerism. Without a doubt, the youth choir acts as ambassadors for the Cherokee Nation, as their beautiful...

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