CHEWEY, Okla. — Leaders from the Cherokee Nation and the state of Oklahoma joined representatives of Delaware County on Wednesday, Sept. 20, in cutting the ribbon on a $2.39 million waterline project in the community of Chewey, which is providing access to safer and more reliable water.
The Cherokee Nation installed approximately 15,000 feet of new 6-inch waterlines, 2,500 feet of new 8-inch waterlines and 8,500 feet of 2-inch waterlines as part of the project.
“Deputy Chief Bryan Warner and I often say that small communities like Chewey are ones that the rest of the world has seemingly forgotten about, but we don’t forget about them because Cherokees founded these communities,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “People might ask, why invest in these small Cherokee towns like Chewey, or Kenwood, or Marble City, or Bowlin Spring? But if we ask that question, we may as well ask whether Cherokee culture is worth investing in, whether Cherokee community is worth investing in, or whether Cherokee language is worth investing in. If this community were to fail, then these efforts to build this Nation from the grassroots up could fail. But we at the Cherokee Nation refuse to see our Cherokee communities, Cherokee culture and Cherokee lifeways disappear.”
The tribe partnered with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, South Delaware County Regional Water Authority and Indian Health Service to complete the $2.39 million waterline project. Funding for the project included $1.4 million from the Cherokee Nation Respond, Recover and Rebuild Act, $694,000 from IHS and $301,500 from the OWRB.
“This particular project is special for numerous reasons, one of which being the partnership between the Cherokee Nation, the government of the United States and the state of Oklahoma,” Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner said. “We believe in working together. We believe in the Cherokee word and idea of gadugi, which means working together with a purpose of accomplishing a greater good. That’s why these relationships the Cherokee Nation has built with organizations like the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, South Delaware County Regional Water Authority, and Indian Health Service are so important.”
The upgraded water infrastructure will grant the community of Chewey the opportunity for future growth and will positively impact the many Cherokee citizens who are served by the town’s public works department, according to Cherokee Nation District 7 Tribal Councilor Joshua Sam.
“There’s not one resource more vital to a community than clean and reliable water, and that’s why this project – made possible by strong partnerships with government bodies on both the federal and state levels – was so important for this Cherokee community in Chewey,” Sam said. “The Cherokee Nation will only continue to invest more funds and more efforts into water infrastructure for the families and communities it serves.”
In 2022 alone, the Cherokee Nation allocated more than $100 million to kickstart water and sewer infrastructure projects throughout the reservation. Those projects benefited more than 8,000 Native families.
“This project not only brings safe, clean and affordable water to the residents, but it also – by connectivity with adjacent systems – improves the resiliency of the water system,” Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment Ken McQueen said. “So we’re just delighted to have this opportunity to participate today. I think it’s just one of many great examples of how we can benefit and accomplish much more by working together.”
In 2021, Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner signed into law the Wilma P. Mankiller and Charlie Soap Act, injecting millions more each year into eliminating barriers to clean water access.
Prior to the waterline project, the Cherokee Nation invested nearly $300,000 in Chewey to install a solar panel roof, public wi-fi and a covered outdoor event space at the Chewey Cherokee Community Organization site -- three projects that have been completed within the last several years.