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.
Deputy Chief Bryan Warner recently visited the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., for the unveiling of Cherokee Nation’s historic Treaty of 1828. This important treaty with the federal government marked a defining moment in Cherokee history, as it established the initial boundaries of the modern-day Cherokee Nation Reservation and affirmed the unity of the Cherokee people as one Nation.
Cherokee Nation leaders gathered recently to hold a topping-out ceremony in celebration of the placement of the final steel beam for the future, state-of-the-art W.W. Hastings Hospital. The six-story structure will have 127 beds, a rooftop helipad, and will allow for expanded services for Cherokee and Native citizens.
Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. recently delivered his sixth State of the Nation address, as part of the 72nd annual Cherokee National Holiday, calling for the permanent expansion of and funding for the tribe’s historic Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act initially signed into law in 2019.
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.
Ella Mounce, 20, of Stilwell, was crowned 2024-2025 Miss Cherokee during the annual leadership competition held recently in Tahlequah. The tribe also crowned a new Junior Miss Cherokee and Little Cherokee Ambassadors, all of whom will serve in their roles for the next year.
