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 Redbird Smith Health Center, located nearby.


In fact, the commission’s selection of Sallisaw for the new center will be an excellent addition to the wide range of health advances and investments Cherokee Nation has already made throughout northeastern Oklahoma. We’ve expanded and built new clinics across our 14 counties. Next year we will dedicate a new, 469,000-square-foot health care facility at the W.W. Hastings campus in Tahlequah, and we’ve secured an agreement with the OSU School of Medicine to launch the first-ever medical school on tribal land.


The center is a relocation from Talihina to Sallisaw. The commission could have selected many terrific locations from across our great state, but they chose to be right here in Cherokee Nation. That’s not by accident. Our corporate arm, Cherokee Nation Businesses, stepped up to make investments that made relocation to Sequoyah County viable and attractive for such a move. The leadership of Cherokee Nation Tribal Council members E.O. Smith and Bryan Warner was essential to help form the alliances that made this possible. This outcome is a model for how public-private-tribal partnerships should work. Successful partnerships like this one will only make our entire region stronger and healthier.


The brand-new facility will be constructed and opened within three to five years, and will employ about 275 people, adding a large number of quality jobs that will support economic growth and add to the area’s tax base. Cherokee Nation’s Career Services Department will lend its support to recruit and fulfill the new center’s workforce needs. We know the people of Sallisaw will embrace this new opportunity and be warm and welcoming not just to the veterans and veterans’ families, but to the center’s employees and their families as well.


It is my honor to say that Cherokee Nation supports veterans through many means. Our Cherokee Nation Veterans Center provides a place for veterans of all eras to gather for fellowship. Employees there assist veterans in accessing necessary Veterans Administration benefits. The Cherokee Nation and VA hospitals have an agreement to provide better care for Native veterans by providing primary care and sharing chart information. We provide veterans across our region access to healthy food via a unique partnership with the Eastern Oklahoma Food Bank. Cherokee veterans are honored monthly during Tribal Council meetings, and our annual Cherokee Warrior Flight takes Cherokee veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials built in their honor.


It’s exciting to see our vision at Cherokee Nation for healthier citizens and communities, especially for veterans, is shared by others. We welcome the new VA center at Sallisaw with open hearts and open arms.

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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. It’s a battle we must win. Toward that end, we are investing more than $50,000 to conduct this community survey. Once it is finalized and complete, we can use the data to apply for additional national funding for language preservation programs.

This survey and the information collected are critical steps in growing the Cherokee language.  The vast majority of our fluent speakers are over the age of 60. As those elders pass away, we lose speakers far more quickly than new speakers emerge. Thus, this effort becomes even more urgent, as we know we must identify as many first-language speakers as possible so that they can share their knowledge with a new generation. As part of the survey, Cherokee Nation will award special medallions to the identified fluent Cherokee speakers.

Recently, we hosted our first Cherokee Language Speaking Employee Appreciation Day. It was exciting to see more than 150 fluent Cherokee-speaking employees gather to discuss ways to continue growing the language. All of the tribal government’s various language programs, including the Cherokee Immersion School, the Cherokee Language Master Apprentice program and the Cherokee Translation Department came together to share ideas and look at ways to coordinate efforts.


Our investments in language are having a visible impact. I now see young Cherokee children and even teens who are becoming fluent, something we once thought was gone forever. We are experiencing a true language revival. I believe through our hard work the Cherokee language is regularly heard, seen, appreciated and being used more by all generations.

The Cherokee language is a defining aspect of our culture; it is an integral part of our identity as Cherokee people. If our language disappears, we will be without the core of the vibrant and thriving culture we share from generation to generation.

I commend the commitment and determination of our CCO department and look forward to what this survey will yield in our language efforts. For more information on the identification survey of Cherokee speakers, contact the Cherokee Nation’s CCO department at 918-207-4995.

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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 feeling of knowing there is a present waiting under the Christmas tree for them this holiday season. Last Christmas, almost 2,000 Cherokee children were provided for—kids who might not otherwise have had anything to celebrate on Christmas morning.

 

Our Angel Project started in the early 1990s and has continued to expand each year. It serves Cherokees 16 and younger who reside within our 14-county tribal jurisdiction.

 

The angel tree stands in the lobby of the main tribal complex in Tahlequah, and the paper angels hanging on it represent children in our communities. Each ornament contains a child’s information and his or her Christmas wish list. The children’s needs range from simple necessities like socks, shoes and coats, to the fun toys and games little ones enjoy so much. No matter the gift, we know with your help, we will create a happy holiday memory that will last these children a lifetime.

 

I also want to take this opportunity to thank our generous employees for their participation in the annual program. Every year, I am amazed at how they pull together and ensure all the angels are provided for. And for the team of Cherokee Nation employees who run the Angel Project, it is a massive undertaking. They coordinate this program during one of the busiest times for families, while still keeping up with their regular job duties. Wado, Angel Project staff!

 

The Angel Project runs completely on donations with the assistance of the local community, but it also draws interest far and wide. People throughout the country often send donations, if they aren’t able to travel here to pick up an angel in person.

 

As Christmas draws closer, please help us make sure that every wish of every angel is fulfilled. To adopt an angel, visit the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex, 17675 S. Muskogee Ave., Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and select an angel ornament off the tree. Presents should be returned unwrapped to our Cherokee FIRST desk in the lobby by Dec. 7. Our staff will wrap and deliver them anonymously to the angel’s family. Additionally, if you want to make a financial donation to the Cherokee Nation Angel Project, please visit www.cherokee.org, scroll to the bottom and click on “Giving to the Cherokee Nation.” You can designate “Angel Project” as your intended recipient.

 

I encourage each of you to find it in your heart to adopt a Cherokee angel, even two or three, if you have the means.

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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 a special group of young people who will retrace our tribe’s route to Oklahoma. The Remember the Removal effort enables some of Cherokee Nation’s strongest emerging leaders to participate in a unique event that is focused on individual growth, teamwork development and, most importantly, sharing Cherokee history and heritage.
 
This is the best classroom I could ever imagine. Riders make stops at museums, gravesites, national parks, churches and other historic sites along the way. The experience reshapes how these young people view life and their heritage. The riders travel about 60 miles per day over a three-week period and pass through seven states: Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
 
It is a grueling journey on a bike, but the struggles on the ride offer greater understanding of what our ancestors experienced along the Trail 180 years ago. An estimated 16,000 Cherokees were forced to make the journey on the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory and more than 4,000 died from exposure, starvation and disease.
 
Remember the Removal ensures our future leaders don’t forget the past and always honor the sacrifices our ancestors made. Our riders serve as ambassadors along the road in the towns they ride through. Since this program was started in the mid-1980s, every participant has dug deep to find untapped reservoirs of strength and perseverance.
 
They ride every day and with every mile, they learn more about the Cherokee experience in America and the true history of our people. We are here today, as the largest tribal government in the country, because of that fortitude.
 
We try to make the ride as public as possible so that followers back home can follow along on social media. Photos and blog posts are updated daily to the Remember the Removal Facebook page at www.facebook.com/removal.ride and on Cherokee Nation’s website at http://remembertheremoval.cherokee.org.
Also, follow along on Twitter and Instagram by searching for the hashtags #RTR2018 and #WeRemember.
 
The 2018 Remember the Removal cyclists are:
 
• Emilee Chavez, 18, Tahlequah, Sequoyah High School
• Daulton Cochran, 21, Bell, Tulsa Community College
• Courtney Cowan, 24, Kansas, Northeastern State University graduate
• Lily Drywater, 21, Tahlequah, Northeastern State University
• Dale Eagle, 23, Tahlequah, Tahlequah High School graduate
• Jennifer Johnson, 48, Oklahoma City, mentor Rider
• Autumn Lawless, 22, Porum, Northeastern State University
• Amari McCoy, 21, Sallisaw, Carl Albert State College
• Parker Weavel, 21, Tahlequah, Northeastern State University
• Sky Wildcat, 22, Tahlequah, Northeastern State University

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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 and career development. These can affect generations of Cherokees and improve lives. One area we still are in dire need is foster and adoptive families for our Indian Child Welfare program. Our children ensure the continued existence of Cherokee values and heritage. They are our future.

Sadly, across the country, more than 1,550 Cherokee youth are in need of a safe, secure and stable home environment with qualified foster families. Sometimes these beautiful and innocent children simply need a temporary place until family reunification can occur. Other times we need higher degrees of permanency, including the lifetime commitment of adoption.

Right now, we have 108 families certified as Cherokee Nation foster families that are providing care to Cherokee children. Every foster opportunity is a success story for Cherokee Nation. Last year we created a specific family leave policy at Cherokee Nation for employees who foster. I am proud that about 15 staffers have utilized this program in the past 12 months.

Cherokee Nation is lucky to have such dedicated individuals within our ICW department. They look for creative ways to collaborate with state- and faith-based partners to the benefit our tribe. I know they work diligently every day to ensure the protection of our children within our tribal communities.

As Cherokee people, we believe we share in child-rearing practices in accordance with our Cherokee cultural values that children are our most precious resource and they ensure our continued existence as a tribe.

I urge Cherokee Nation citizens, agencies and organizations to keep collaborating to raise awareness for the need of foster families for Cherokee children. And I encourage all those who can to consider becoming a foster parent. Visit www.cherokeekids.org for more information.

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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 Cherokee Nation’s New Home Construction Program, to build affordable single- or multi-family homes for tribal citizens, while benefitting the local school district.


Previously, state law required schools to sell land for fair-market value; however, some public schools, particularly rural schools, have surplus land that is difficult to sell on the market. While this property often offers no value to school districts, it will enable tribal housing authorities to build quality homes at a low cost for tribal citizens. Cherokee Nation can develop the property for real growth that benefits local communities, Cherokee families and the school district itself.


The Cherokee Nation Housing Authority builds quality three- and four-bedroom, single-family brick homes, each with a monthly payment of about $350, which includes taxes and insurance. Since 2012, we have built more than 660 of these homes. This program has also put Cherokees and our neighbors to work by creating 35,156 job opportunities for local contractors throughout northeast Oklahoma. HB1334 further increases our ability to build more homes.


The real advantage for local school districts will be in the form of additional revenue, as $2,800 per student will annually go to the school via Federal Impact Aid. School districts will be able to take advantage of this new law by collecting this aid for each student living in the homes constructed by the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation.


Additional impact aid revenue could lead to reduced class sizes, more teachers, newer textbooks and improved facilities. This desperately needed funding, through federal education dollars into Cherokee Nation’s 14 counties, will drastically enhance the educational experience our children receive.


Our partnership with public education in northeast Oklahoma continues to advance in creative and mutually beneficial ways. HB1334 presents yet another opportunity for tribes and schools to collaborate.


Cherokee Nation is a proud partner with the state of Oklahoma. We will continue to champion legislation like HB1334 that creates solutions our state needs to leverage tribal investments and improve the quality of life for all Oklahomans.

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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 access to healthy and nutritious foods, and that will translate to better and fuller lives. It is a blessing that we are able to help, and it is the least we can do for those who have done so much for us.


This endeavor will launch a mobile food pantry to the Cherokee Nation Veterans Center quarterly. The first distribution of 10 pallets — about 10,000 pounds of food — will be May 29. The tribe will help identify and distribute tickets to veterans in need, as well as provide volunteers to help run the mobile pantry. Fresh produce, bakery items and nonperishable food items will be made available for about 125 veterans or widows of veterans.


Today, the Cherokee Veterans Center offers a wide array of activities for veterans. It serves as a place to sign up for benefits, play bingo or attend other activities, and now we are adding a food pantry. It is just one more way we can meet the needs of our people.


The Cherokee Nation continues to look for ways to honor and serve our veteran warriors, and this partnership with the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma is another avenue to reach those in need. Food insecurity is a very real issue for families in northeast Oklahoma, and almost 20 percent of the households the Food Bank serves has a military veteran who resides there and utilizes the program. Additionally, national studies show veterans are affected more by hunger and food insecurity than the general population. Many struggle to put food on the table because of a myriad of issues, from employability after service to mental health and related trauma or an unwillingness to seek help.


Collaborating with the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma means we are increasing and expanding its coverage and furthering its mission. Just like Cherokee Nation, the food bank wants to provide for our veterans so that they have what they need to prosper.


The Cherokee Nation also offers a food distribution program, which some veterans may also qualify for. For more information on the Cherokee Nation Veterans Center and food pantry, call 918-772-4166.

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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 and that treating both is required for good health. We also work to understand and address the impact of historical and generational trauma on our Cherokee citizens.


For years, Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health has used, and is continuing to use, federal grants to train community law enforcement, youth workers and health officials to effectively and compassionately collaborate with individuals with mental illness to address their needs and get them help.


Each of the five courses the Cherokee Nation teaches, funded through a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration grant and the Indian Health Service, teaches specific risk factors for and observable signs of potential mental illness. The classes also address the role of mental health in emergency scenarios, how we can best assist and how those situations can result in more positive outcomes for everyone involved.
 
Nationally, there are only about 5,000 instructors who are certified to teach Mental Health First Aid, and the Cherokee Nation employs six of them.

During a typical eight-hour course, participants memorize a five-step action plan, learn how to identify mental health risk factors and offer support to be effective communicators.


Having these certified instructors is more than just simply hosting a classroom training; it is helping make a life-or-death difference during a mental health or substance abuse crisis. Detailed preparation for these kinds of scenarios means we can better attend to all parties. We are investing in education and training. Because of those efforts, communities and Cherokee families in northeast Oklahoma are benefiting, and we are able to have more comprehensive and up-to-date crisis services going forward.


Cherokee Nation’s Adult Behavioral Health Department has led more than 15 trainings and trained almost 350 people to identify and be better prepared when mental illness, including depression, anxiety or personality disorders, is involved.
 
Cherokee Nation’s Helping Everyone Reach Out, or HERO project, provides children’s mental health services. It has also completed seven Mental Health First Aid trainings with 131 participants from schools, family service agencies and students at Northeastern State University. This summer, the HERO project plans to do even more outreach to area schools so that we can offer this vital training to administrators and classroom teachers.


According to the American Psychiatric Association, Native Americans experience serious psychological distress at 1.5 times greater than the general population and suffer from PTSD more than twice the rate as other Americans. Sadly, those afflicted with mental health issues often self-medicate, which in many cases can lead to substance abuse. This complicates emergencies, which is why we are actively working to be prepared and competent at addressing the complexity created by the presence of mental health-related issues.


Another positive result of Cherokee Nation’s efforts in this arena is assisting our first responders. Law enforcement engagement with persons with mental illness will be more amicable and result in increased frequency of positive outcomes in Oklahoma because of these trainings conducted by the tribe.

Our behavioral health programs, just like our other health endeavors, rely on federal funding. Cherokee Nation is doing more every day, even as federal policymakers continue to underfund Indian Health Service and other programs that affect our Native population in America.


Striving for a healthy mind, body and soul is how we can move forward, and Cherokee Nation will keep leading the way. May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, and we are taking steps to make our employees and citizens more mindful of these issues and the programs we offer tribal citizens, like individual and group therapy for mental health and substance abuse, relapse prevention, children and family treatment, parenting classes and psychological testing for children and adults.


Our hope is to light the way for each other.  By addressing mental health on a policy, community and individual level, we plant the seeds of change within our tribe.

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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. It will be a unique destination, designed to tell the powerful and significant story of Native Americans in Oklahoma. The AICCM’s mission has always been to enhance what individual tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, do to share our heritage.

Art, history and contemporary culture will be all in one place, and if people want to dig deeper they can travel to Tahlequah or Ada or Anadarko or Lawton.

I am proud to be a part of this creative endeavor and a public-private venture with the state of Oklahoma, city of Oklahoma City, AICCM Land Development LLC and private sector. Absolutely none of this would be possible without the cooperation of the 38 federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma today.

Construction will resume this summer and take about two years to complete, while exhibits and other interior finishes will take another year to install. The museum will open in the spring of 2021. Construction was stopped six years ago on the museum, which sits at the junction of Interstates 35 and 40 in Oklahoma City, when state funding ran out.

As Native people, perseverance is something we know well, and we would not be moving forward today without Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby and his leadership in establishing a powerful and productive partnership with Oklahoma City’s leaders. He has been a champion to achieve this dream. Once completed it will be an epic indoor/outdoor adventure for the entire family with unique exhibits, hands-on educational programs, firsthand accounts and cultural demonstrations.

Tribes have tremendous heritage and history in Oklahoma, which is why state leaders wanted to build this museum in the first place. It will substantially increase opportunities to educate Oklahoma’s youth on the rich history of our state, which was born from Indian Territory. Those critical aspects of Oklahoma’s history simply are not stressed enough in public classrooms. Oklahomans need to know more about their history and certainly need a better grasp of how important tribal governments are not just to our past, but also to our bright future.

Tribal governments mean so much to the state, not just its cultural identity, but also in a very real and tangible way economically. The Cherokee Nation alone has an economic impact on our state of over $2 billion.

Oklahoma is Indian Country, and AICCM will be a tremendous asset to all of us.

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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 between the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes and the Smithsonian is easily one of the best national showcases of tribal culture. We are able to share our heritage and history in one of the finest cultural museums in the world.

Since starting this annual partnership five years ago, we have enlightened and educated thousands of people about who the Cherokee people were in our historical homelands in the Southeast, and just as important, who we are today. Collectively, our historians, educators, entertainers and artists reflect the best of our Cherokee people.

Cherokee Days showcases live cultural art demonstrations and cultural performances including songs and traditional dances, as well as storytelling. There will also be pottery, stickball, basket weaving, carving and textile demonstrations. Among the activities are make-and-take experiences, which allow children to create traditionally inspired Cherokee items including cornhusk dolls, clay beads and medallions. This special festival continues to spark excitement in people of all walks of life and of all ages.

I am proud to say the leaders, along with the staffs, of the three federally recognized tribes continually work together to advance language preservation, historic preservation and cultural policies. There is so much to learn and appreciate in our intertwined narratives.

In addition to NMAI’s current “Americas” exhibit, a new installation created by Cherokee Nation will debut during Cherokee Days. “Trail of Tears: A Story of Cherokee Removal” shares the unique Cherokee perspective of removal policies and focuses on the early history of our tribe in Indian Territory. It educates viewers about the circumstances surrounding the Trail of Tears and the devastating cost of greed and oppression our people lived through. It also shows how our tribal government rebuilt itself by re-establishing schools and courts in modern-day Oklahoma. The perseverance to not only survive but to thrive is a story we are eager to share nationally and in our own voice. The exhibit will remain on display through the remainder of 2018.

Additionally, a new panel exhibit focused on Cherokee women will be showcased this year. The “Cherokee Women Who Changed the World” display focuses on our historic matriarchal society and female trailblazers within our culture.

To experience the Cherokee Days event if you cannot travel to Washington, D.C., there are live broadcasting capabilities through the interactive website www.cherokeedays.com.


Please visit the site for an agenda of daily activities and performances. Also, follow Cherokee Nation’s social media accounts for additional photos and videos throughout the event.

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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 employ more than 11,000 people and have a $2.03 billion economic impact on the state of Oklahoma.

Recently in Tahlequah, we topped out the new facility on the W.W. Hastings health campus, which will open in 2019. Once it is operating at full capacity and completely staffed in the coming years it will create 850 new health care jobs, and it will have a major impact in housing and retail needs.

Also in our capital city, we just broke ground on a new gaming site that will house a modern convention center. Our workforce at Cherokee Casino Tahlequah will be about 220 permanent jobs. The W.W. Hastings campus and Cherokee Casino Tahlequah will help fulfill our jobs mission in our home community. It will create dozens of good careers that include lucrative benefits packages with insurance and 401(k) plans. That means Cherokee families are making a good living here in Cherokee County. The future conference center is really the feather in the cap of this expansion for northeast Oklahoma.  There is a huge need in our region for a convention hall-type space that can house multiple meetings where people can stay, meet and eat in one location.

These new properties will be a regional attraction for health care and tourism, not to mention the hundreds and hundreds of construction jobs and opportunities these projects provide the region.

However, Cherokee Nation’s impact transcends just our own developments. We are good partners with regional entities like universities, career-techs and chambers of commerce. Collaboration with the Tulsa Chamber enabled Cherokee Nation to assist an Italian corporation, Sofidel America, on its expansion into Rogers County. The new paper manufacturing facility in Inola will create 300 permanent jobs and another 500 construction jobs. We are excited to continue partnering with state and municipal partners to create opportunities like this, because it supports our entire region.

The tribe’s Career Services Department, a critical team member in securing Macy’s Fulfillment Center workforce in Owasso, is now assisting DMI in expanding its employee base in Wagoner. DMI, a HVAC manufacturing company, has made significant investments in the community in the past year, and we are helping connect our people to good manufacturing jobs like these.

Our work in growing the economy within our 14 counties is a blessing, and we are proudly leading the way through innovation and collaboration. We believe in making sound investments that have a lasting impact on the Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee people and all of northeast Oklahoma.

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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 community level. The work of Cherokee Nation’s Community and Cultural Outreach team connects people to Cherokee culture as well as continuing education programs. 

Today, our CCO staff provides capacity building and training to Cherokee community organizations. They also manage a community work/building program, a volunteer program, a cultural outreach program, a history preservation program and the Cherokee Language Master/Apprentice Program. This work is done within our 14 counties as well as our formalized 23 at-large communities across the United States. As the largest sovereign government in the United States with a citizenry of more than 360,000 people, we strive to keep our people connected to culture by offering our citizens informative and educational opportunities to learn and volunteer.

Our culture and heritage are who we are, and it is a blessing to share that bond with other Cherokees at CCO gatherings, which in the past year have been bigger and better than ever before. CCO’s work has helped revitalize the spirit of “neighbors helping neighbors,” a core Cherokee value.

In the past year, CCO has served 112 different Cherokee community organizations with technical assistance, a 55 percent increase from just two years ago. They offer community organizations tips on funding sources, grant writing, new program development, board of directors development, and ways to improve technology use and communication.


The volunteer program under the CCO umbrella coordinates with universities and other education-based programs, like AmeriCorps, to provide opportunities for students to come into the Cherokee Nation and volunteer their time and energy to build and repair homes of elders, veterans and other citizens in need. We have created collaborations that help Cherokees and completed 64 enhancement projects last year by partnering with schools like Ohio State, Texas Tech and University of Connecticut. The completed work has a monetary value of about $240,000.

Sharing Cherokee culture is one of the most important jobs at CCO, which coordinates weekly cultural presentations, oftentimes conducted by Cherokee National Treasures in all areas of Cherokee life. The presentations are filmed and are popular on YouTube. Our team recognizes the need for a strong cultural identity, the expansion of our language and the preservation of our history.

Nationally, attendance is up almost 25 percent at our at-large meetings in the past year. The spirit of community is alive and well in these endeavors. It is always a blessing to see so many friends and meet new ones as well.

We have laid a strong foundation for success in the past year within our CCO programs. The staff has a wide range of expertise, and participating in CCO’s community events are some of my favorite responsibilities as Principal Chief. Every CCO meeting, educational program, cultural presentation, language workshop or leadership lesson is made with one goal in mind: to make the Cherokee Nation and our people strong.

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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 teacher contracts in FY18-19.

Over the past decade, the state of Oklahoma has made drastic budget cuts to public education. At the same time, teachers continue to meet additional demands beyond simply fulfilling the daily lesson plans.  From monitoring student safety to test preparation to finding ways to help students in need of food or school supplies, Oklahoma teachers go above and beyond the call of duty each day and with fewer resources each year.

We have the best colleges in Oklahoma (several in our jurisdiction like Northeastern State University and Rogers State University), which train our brightest minds for the educational workforce. Yet, sadly, when they graduate, they often leave to teach in other states or are forced to leave the children they love teaching for higher-paying jobs. The state absolutely must address teacher pay this legislative session because we are in a crisis. However, Cherokee Nation will not wait any longer.

This pay raise is in keeping with Cherokee Nation’s longstanding commitment and support of public education. We started the first institution of higher learning for females west of the Mississippi River.  We established a system of free public education well before Oklahoma statehood. We continue to achieve excellence today at Sequoyah High School, the Cherokee Nation Immersion School and through our support of public schools and students across northeastern Oklahoma.

In addition, we recently issued $5.4 million to 108 schools through our car tag compact. The amount given annually has doubled since 2010, and since 2003, Cherokee Nation has contributed more than $50 million to public education through the compact.

Cherokee Nation is unwavering in its commitment to public schools, students and teachers. Our pay raise reaffirms that commitment and, I hope, sends a message to state leaders that they should follow Cherokee Nation’s lead and raise pay for all certified teachers in the state. The Cherokee Nation understands the role of teachers. It is a profession that we know is of extreme value and importance. Teachers impact so many lives and should be rewarded as such.

 

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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 voices show the strength of the Cherokee Nation and our culture.

The group is active in the community through volunteer efforts, and it raises awareness to important causes. Members often lead fundraisers or donation drives when community members are in need.  Their dedication does not end with music.

Typically, the choir consists of 30-40 young Cherokees from northeast Oklahoma communities. The members, who perform traditional Cherokee songs in the Cherokee language, are middle and high school youth, usually in the sixth through 12th grade. The students compete in rigorous auditions every year for inclusion in the group, which is funded solely by the Cherokee Nation and is directed by Mary Kay Henderson and Kathy Sierra.

The goal of the choir is to increase awareness of Cherokee culture and it is an important tool to keep our young citizens involved in the Cherokee language and heritage.

A staple at Cherokee Nation events and ceremonies, the choir’s music has a special way of connecting its audience to Cherokee Nation’s history, culture and language. That success is not limited to the tribe’s borders.  Over the years, the group has performed around the United States, including two appearances at the Macy’s Day Parade in New York. Founded in 2000, the choir has recorded 13 CDs and has performed with legendary artists like Foreigner, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Roy Clark, Kenny Rogers and the Oak Ridge Boys.

It has been a remarkable year for the Cherokee National Youth Choir. In addition to the recent state award, it also won the award for Best Pop Recording during the 17th annual Native American Music Awards this past year. Another impressive honor the youth choir secured in 2014 was its selection for a GRAMMY Foundation award worth $10,000 for stressing the importance of music in school. More than 120 other vocal groups were considered for that effort.

The Cherokee National Youth Choir is part of the long tradition of excellent musical talents in Oklahoma, and they have brought acclaim and accolades to the Cherokee Nation and the state. The talent represented each year within the Cherokee National Youth Choir is impressive, and I could not be more proud of their contributions. These young people represent the best of the Cherokee Nation and remain the future of our communities.

The choir’s latest album, “Just Jesus,” is available through Cherokee Nation’s Gift Shops or online at www.cherokeegiftshop.com.

 

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