Cherokee Nation W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex, health centers and satellite offices will be closed Monday Jan. 20, 2025.W.W. Hastings Hospital emergency services, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service and Cherokee Nation EMS will still be operational.
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 new Acting Marshal of the Cherokee Nation, Daniel Mead, was recently sworn into office by Cherokee Nation Justice Shawna Baker during a public ceremony at the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex. Mead, 45, of Tahlequah is an 18-year veteran of the department. Mead began his career with the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service as a Deputy Marshal in 2006.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner recently gathered in Tahlequah to celebrate the third anniversary of the Speaker Services program. Chief Hoskin announced reforms to the program for first-language fluent Cherokee speakers to make it a sustainable part of the tribe’s historic language revitalization effort.
The Cherokee Nation is receiving a $10.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to install 112 publicly accessible electric vehicle charging ports across 12 community locations. The initiative supports our tribe's clean energy goals.
Our tribe recently celebrated the grand opening of a new state-of-the-art Head Start Center in Nowata, a $7.3 million investment. It is a 9,300-square-foot facility that will provide comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent-involvement services to low-income families with children ages 3 and under. The new facility features a storm shelter, commercial kitchen, new early Head Start classrooms, and a playground with shade structure and an eco-green roof.
Our tribe recently held its first Rare Disease Summit at the Cherokee Nation Health Services Campus, bringing together health care professionals, medical specialists, and community members to address the unique challenges facing tribal citizens with rare medical conditions.