Federal diabetes program for Indians is saving lives in Cherokee Nation

The recent federal budget extension includes funding for the reauthorization of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians. This is significant for the Cherokee Nation and all of Indian Country. The budget for SDPI has been renewed at the current funding level of $150 million until the end of FY 2019. Sadly, one in four Cherokees over age 50, and one in three over age 60, has diabetes. But through the federal investment in SDPI, Cherokee Nation has received the resources needed to address our disproportionate burden of diabetes. SDPI is a...

Read More

Efforts in health care financial management equate to more services, more assistance for Cherokees

Cherokee Nation Health Services offers our citizens some of the best care available in Indian Country. Folks in northeast Oklahoma know this, but recently we changed a few things that are creating more and better health services for Cherokee families. I am proud to say we are reaping the benefits of those efforts. When someone comes to a Cherokee Nation health center and needs something that our own clinics do not provide, like a knee replacement for example, we send them to a specialist who is outside our network of Cherokee Nation doctors...

Read More

Cherokee Nation seed bank preserves Cherokee food history

Preservation of Cherokee heritage comes in a wide array of forms. We have Cherokee Nation preservationists in areas like language, which is spoken and written. We have song and dance traditionalists, and we have master artisans devoted to traditional Cherokee arts like carving, pottery and basket weaving. However, during my tenure as Principal Chief, one of the most popular and highly participatory efforts has been food preservation through the Cherokee Nation seed bank program. Our effort, led by Senior Director of Environmental Resources...

Read More