BUILDING NATION

From historic housing investments and language perpetuation to revolutionary tribal wellness initiatives, the blueprint for a healthy and thriving Cherokee Nation is found in community, family, culture

ABy Josh Newton

As a curriculum specialist for the Cherokee Nation Language Department, Lee Webber is, in a very real sense, helping to both save and perpetuate the Cherokee language.

In 2023, only an estimated 2,000 Cherokee citizens are fluent Cherokee speakers.

Webber began working with the Cherokee Nation when he was selected for the tribe’s Cherokee Language Master/ Apprentice Program, a two-year, immersive program for adult language learners.

“I applied, was accepted to the program, and spent the next two years studying and learning how to speak and write Cherokee,” he said. “This is one of the best programs I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s helping save our Cherokee language.”

After graduating from the program, Webber received assistance through the tribe’s Career Services program and was placed in a temporary job with the language department until a full-time curriculum opportunity was available. Now, Webber works daily to help preserve the tribe’s traditions and heritage.

“Cherokee was my mom’s first language. I get to go out to the Cherokee Reservation and interview fluent speakers and work with them to document the old words and ways of saying things,” Webber said. “When you love what you’re doing, you’re going to be there every day and give it all you got, and I love what I’m doing.”

The tribe’s innovative language perpetuation efforts are headquartered in the Cherokee Nation’s new $20 million, 52,000-square-foot Durbin Feeling Language Center, which is located in the capital city of the reservation. Officially opened in November 2022, the new language hub is just one of the hundreds of construction projects recently completed, ongoing, or in the planning stages all across the Cherokee Nation Reservation.

Hundreds of new homes are providing comfort and safety for Cherokee elders and Cherokee families. New tribal Head Start centers will help future generations of Cherokees get an early education. Industry-leading healthcare facilities will ensure the Cherokee people have access to the best health and wellness care available in Indian Country. New state-of-theart community centers are bringing growth to the smallest of Cherokee communities and providing new opportunities for fun and fellowship.

While these brick-and-mortar projects have the potential to positively change the lives of Cherokees for generations to come, it’s not only the physical work that is helping to build a stronger, healthier Cherokee Nation.

“Deputy Chief Bryan Warner and I talk often about the importance of meeting the most important needs, the greatest hopes, and the highest aspirations of our Cherokee brothers and sisters. We strive to do that through a sense of togetherness and through an approach that believes community, family and culture should be our blueprint,” said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “Homes, health centers, schools and community centers all help to build a lasting foundation for the Cherokee people. But if we want to continue to honor our past and build for our future, we must also address matters of the heart and mind. The Cherokee language is certainly the heart and soul of what it means to be Cherokee, so we made historic investments to build new generations of Cherokee speakers who can help ensure the language will once again be spoken instinctively in all facets of Cherokee life. The Cherokee people deserve access to holistic health and wellness, so we’ve worked with the Council of the Cherokee Nation to establish our first in-house drug treatment center as part of a much larger investment in mental health.”

More than $30 million is being used to ensure career training opportunities are available to thousands of Cherokee citizens, which in turn helps improve their lives and employability and strengthens the tribe.

“We opened a new domestic violence shelter and transitional housing in Stilwell to expand our efforts at helping families and children who suffer at the hands of violence. We also hosted a summit for law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors, victims advocates and other professionals with the goal of sharing resources and expertise, part of our mission to eliminate domestic violence,” Chief Hoskin said. “These issues and so many more are all a part of the hopes, ideas and expectations of our collective Cherokee family.”

Using the Cherokee Nation Public Health and Wellness Fund Act, the tribe is investing $100 million to expand existing behavioral health programs and find new, innovative ways to help Cherokee citizens impacted by substance abuse.

A Cherokee citizen who found hope and help after turning to the Cherokee Nation’s Medication Assisted Treatment program believes these efforts are saving lives: “When I first came to the program, I was … about to lose my family. My provider is the person who told me it would be OK and life will get better. The program has kept me clean and away from the drugs that were destroying my life. My life and family have improved so much thanks to the provider and the program. I can live again.”

For thousands of other Cherokee citizens, the tribe has also helped in finding new career paths. Cameron Kirby-Sixkiller said he left high school when his father became ill. He decided to stay home and help care for him. Kirby-Sixkiller later worked what he described as low-paying jobs before he decided to pursue an alternative education.

He enrolled in Cherokee Nation’s Talking Leaves Job Corps program, which for more than four decades has assisted students in becoming employable for the workforce and equipped for higher education. Kirby-Sixkiller earned his high school diploma within two weeks and then began taking Office Administration Certification classes.

“I graduated in January of 2023 and immediately got a job with the public works department at the City of Muskogee,” said Kirby-Sixkiller. “I became financially stable after leaving TLJC. After a short time, I was able to get a car and a house and was ready to look at beginning a career path.”

He now works as a detention officer at the Cherokee County Detention Center in Tahlequah, and is looking forward to pursuing a career in law enforcement.

“We are always asking ourselves how the Cherokee Nation can be of more assistance to citizens without getting in their way. Whether we do that through physical infrastructure, which can make the lives of thousands of Cherokee citizens better with each project, or if we do it through programs and services that meet Cherokees on a much more personal level, it all matters in a very big way,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner. “The Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses are blessed to have a work family who make these projects possible by serving the Cherokee people each and every day. We see the great impact of their works and their deeds not just here on the reservation, but in every corner of the country where we find Cherokee citizens living.”

Scan here to learn the Cherokee word for “house”