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.
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.
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. named Daniel Mead as Acting Marshal of the Cherokee Nation effective January 1, 2025. Mead, an 18-year veteran of the department, will fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Marshal Shannon Buhl. Mead began his career with the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service as a Deputy Marshal in 2006. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant.
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.
Cherokee Nation recently celebrated the groundbreaking of a new $10 million, nearly 15-acre park in Tahlequah named in honor of the late Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller. The Wilma P. Mankiller Cherokee Capitol Park is being constructed on property that was acquired by the tribe after a proposal by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner to create the park – an idea first recommended by Cherokee Nation First Daughter Jasmine Hoskin, who felt the land could be turned into a family-friendly space.
The Cherokee Nation has been awarded more than $86 million in federal funding for Native-owned small business lending. Through the State Small Business Credit Initiative, Cherokee Nation will work with financial institutions to offer loans of up to $5 million to qualifying small businesses for uses such as working capital, franchise fees, and equipment acquisition; inventory or services used in the business’ production, manufacturing or delivery of the business’ goods or services; or the purchase, construction or renovation of an eligible place of business.
