TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. delivered his seventh State of the Nation address Saturday in Tahlequah as part of the 73rd Annual Cherokee National Holiday, calling for massive investments into health and wellness programs and other priorities.
In what Hoskin described as a “season of American division,” he praised the tribe’s unity and strength and called for investments in a range of areas, including health and wellness programs, housing, and job training.
Hoskin called on the Council to increase funding to the Public Health and Wellness Fund, part of the landmark 2021 Public Health and Wellness Fund Act that steered record investment into wellness centers, outdoor recreation as well as behavioral health and drug treatment facilities.
Hoskin pledged to use the PHWFA increase and the existing surplus to invest $30 million in more affordable housing, community buildings, outdoor recreation spaces, and public safety measures over the next three years.
The PHWFA uses an earmark of 7% of the tribe’s third-party health care revenue to fund programs and projects to support wellness and behavioral health programs. Hoskin and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner proposed an increase to 10%.
Hoskin acknowledged that many rural and remote tribal communities are struggling but he pledged a long-term investment.
“If our communities fade away in this century, it will be our failure,” said Hoskin. “We do not intend to fail. We intend to take action.”
Hoskin announced a range of new capital projects in health care and law and justice, all while the tribe is in the middle of more than a billion dollars in existing capital projects.
“On Oct. 1, a new era begins with the Cherokee Nation Claremore Emergency and Outpatient Center,” said Hoskin. “We will immediately invest $11 million into the current facility and sign an agreement with a local provider for seamless obstetric care.”
Chief Hoskin unveiled a $244 million outpatient and emergency center in Claremore, which he said will be completed before he leaves office in 2027.
On the subject of drug treatment, Hoskin said the tribe’s first-ever drug treatment facility for adults will open in Tahlequah in 2026 and that in the coming year, he and Warner will propose an outpatient drug treatment center in Vinita and unveil designs for residential recovery centers across the reservation.
He also spoke about the tribe’s Cherokee Heritage Center, closed since 2020 and now owned by the tribe, and said it will get new life.
You can read Hoskin’s full address here.
