The Cherokee Nation is a sovereign tribal government. Upon settling in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) after the Indian Removal Act, the Cherokee people established a new government in what is now the city of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. A constitution was adopted on September 6, 1839, 68 years prior to Oklahoma’s statehood.
Today, the Cherokee Nation is the largest tribe in the United States with more than 450,000 tribal citizens worldwide. More than 141,000 Cherokee Nation citizens reside within the tribe’s reservation boundaries in northeastern Oklahoma. Services provided include health and human services, education, employment, housing, economic and infrastructure development, environmental protection and more. With approximately 11,000 employees, Cherokee Nation and its subsidiaries are one of the largest employers in northeastern Oklahoma. The tribe had a more than $2.16 billion economic impact on the Oklahoma economy in fiscal year 2018.
MISSION:
The Cherokee Nation is committed to protecting our inherent sovereignty, preserving and promoting Cherokee culture, language and values, and improving the quality of life for the next seven generations of Cherokee Nation citizens.
The Cherokee Nation is starting construction on a six-story, $400 million hospital that will replace the nearly 40-year-old aging W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah. The new hospital will span 400,000 square feet, will include 127 beds, a helipad on the roof and will allow expanded services for Cherokee and Native citizens.
The Cherokee Nation will host the first-ever Families are Sacred Summit on April 18-20. The summit will help tribal nations and local, state, and federal law enforcement and service providers learn best practices that deliver safe, effective services for victims of domestic violence, help increase successful prosecutions, and reduce crime across all tribal reservations. Learn more and register at www.familiesaresacred.com.
Cherokee speakers from across the United States gathered with Cherokee Nation leaders for the grand opening of the tribe’s new, historic $20 million Durbin Feeling Language Center. The 52,000-square-foot building in Tahlequah will house all of the Cherokee Nation’s growing language programs under one roof.
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. testified before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Rules, reminding the United States of the binding commitment it made nearly 200 years ago, during the first-ever hearing on the Cherokee Nation’s treaty-mandated delegate.
Cherokee Nation officially broke ground on a $10 million, state-of-the-art Career Readiness Campus southwest of Tahlequah. The campus will be the home of the new Cherokee Nation Building Trades Program and will provide space for expanding training opportunities in the construction field such as electrical, plumbing, masonry and HVAC.
