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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