State of the Cherokee Nation – more housing and job opportunities needed

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. delivered his sixth State of the Nation address on Saturday during the 72 ^nd annual Cherokee National Holiday.

The Cherokee National Holiday commemorates the signing of the 1839 Cherokee Nation Constitution and the highlight of the three-day festivities is the State of the Nation address.

The Cherokee Nation’s holiday weekend includes arts and crafts, golf tournaments, art shows, quilt shows, powwow, gospel singing, a 5k run, a marble tournament, a blowgun contest, stickball, a fiddler’s contest, a bass tournament, and fireworks.

During his address, Hoskin called for the permanent expansion of and funding of the tribe’s historic 2019 Housing, Jobs, and Sustainable Communities Act. A comprehensive study of housing security across the region shows an overall $1.75 billion gap in housing for the region over the next decade.

“This is not a crisis caused by the Cherokee Nation. It is not a crisis that falls only on the Cherokee Nation. But it is a crisis that commands our attention,” Hoskin said. “We are not a people who sit back and wait for others to come to the rescue. We are a people meant to lead and we must lead on housing.”

Hoskin proposed to expand the $120 million Housing, Jobs, and Sustainable Communities Act by committing $40 million to housing and community-building projects every three years.

The tribe has taken over 2,800 housing projects, from new home construction to home repairs, compared to only 1,600 projects using federal Housing and Urban Development funds for Indian Housing.

Hoskin announced he would tap the tribe’s business profits to help fund the proposed new Housing, Jobs, and Sustainable Communities Act.

“Under the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, we have built five new community buildings, with two more under construction and four more projects out for bid,” Hoskin said.

He said the tribe has repaired or expanded dozens more and locked in over $1 million in energy savings with its solar panel project.

Hoskin also proposed infusing Sequoyah Schools with a $65 million capital improvement project. If approved by the Cherokee Nation Council, Hoskin plans to transform the Sequoyah Schools campus in Tahlequah, including remodeling dorms, building a new academic building, and a performing arts center, among other upgrades.

Hoskins wants to add $86 million in loan support to grow and expand Cherokee citizens’ small businesses. The loan is part of an agreement between the Cherokee Nation and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“Whether it is the thousands of college graduates or those in one of our career training programs each year, the generation of Cherokees coming up need jobs,” Hoskin said. “Although we are the proud employer of 14,000 worldwide, small businesses remain the biggest driver of the economy.”

Also on the table is taking ownership and control of the Claremore Indian Hospital, which operates within the Indian Health Service federal system, by the end of 2025. Hoskin said the Claremore Indian Hospital helps thousands of Cherokee citizens annually.

The Cherokee Nation’s health system is on track to see 2 million patient visits annually. Construction of the tribe’s $450 million hospital in Tahlequah and the $85 million Salina health center is on track, and in August, the tribe broke ground on a $25 million addiction treatment center south of Tahlequah, he said.

During Saturday’s State of the Nation Address, Hoskin asked Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt to “put aside his hostility to tribal sovereignty” and to work with a sense of respect toward a fair tribal car tag compact with the Cherokee Nation.

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