TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner publicly released new reports on childcare, wellness centers and career readiness recently compiled by various administration advisory groups.
“Our administration develops policies through careful and transparent study of the facts and the issues,” said Chief Hoskin. “These new reports will help guide us on key issues in the years ahead and are available for the general public to view on our Cherokee.gov website.”
The reports, developed by advisors within the tribe’s executive branch at the direction of Chief Hoskin, are now available on the tribe’s website, Cherokee.gov.
Wellness Centers
Deputy Secretary of State Canaan Duncan led the “Principal Chief’s Task Force on Wellness Centers and Related Subjects,” an advisory body formed under a Chief Hoskin executive order.
In the Wellness Task Force’s September 1, 2026, report the advisors recommended an expansion of wellness centers and wellness spaces to follow a strategy similar to the tribe’s decades old strategy of putting health centers within approximately one-half hour drive of every tribal citizen within the Cherokee Nation Reservation.
The Task Force identified Vinita, Sallisaw, and Jay as among the communities ripe for wellness investments as the tribe works toward putting facilities in close reach of its citizens.
“We let the data lead us to our recommendations,” said Deputy Secretary of State Duncan. “Now that our preliminary work is done, Chief Hoskin has tasked us with conducting even more analysis to examining fiscal sustainability and further exploring the co-usage of future wellness facilities by our Health Services and Public Health departments for such services as physical and aqua therapy.”
The wellness center task force was represented by staff working in various areas of tribal policy, from public health, to cultural revitalization to construction.
Under the Hoskin/Warner Administration, Cherokee Nation has constructed three wellness centers- Stilwell, Salina and Tahlequah, and two wellness spaces- Kenwood and Marble City. A wellness center will be included in the tribe’s $400 million health campus in Claremore which is expected to open in 2029. The tribes’ wellness centers and spaces are available at no cost to tribal citizens and heavily subsidized for other community members.
Under the tribe’s Public Health and Wellness Fund Act, the tribe also subsidizes gym memberships at participating non-profit gyms operating in and around the Cherokee Nation Reservation. Those third party “Fitness Partners” operate in Tulsa, Pryor, Muskogee, Bartlesville and Grove.
That same law provides millions of dollars annually in “Wellness Partners” grants to schools, non-profits and local governments.
Child Care Report
Secretary of State Shella Bowlin, Human Services Executive Director Brittany Denny-Davis and Human Services staff developed an updated analysis of the tribe’s childcare needs.
“We see the impact of Cherokee Nation’s massive childcare investment in our communities,” said Secretary Bowlin. “What our new study shows is that we have more work to do, and we are eager to get underway to help even more families and caregivers.”
The new childcare report builds on previous reports issued under the tribe’s Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act and Chief Hoskin’s directives. The report, issued August 31, 2026, identifies a number of communities that lack sufficient child care resources but where the tribe has infrastructure in place to construct new facilities, including Tahlequah and Vinita.
In his recent State of the Nation address, Chief Hoskin called for new child development centers in those communities as well as $1 million annually in support for private childcare construction by Cherokee entrepreneurs. Chief Hoskin also called for expanding the hours of the tribe’s Head Start centers to help working families.
“One of the surest ways anywhere on the planet to combat poverty is to empower women with freedom of choice, including the ability to choose to work. We have already made the largest childcare investment in Cherokee Nation history. Quality childcare is near and dear to the heart of our Cherokee Nation First Lady. So, let’s pursue three ideas to go further. First, let’s build new Child Development Centers. Let’s lay out a strategy to build more over the next decade and let’s start this year in Tahlequah and Vinita,” Chief Hoskin said in his State of the Nation Address.
Under the Hoskin/Warner Administration the tribe replaced all of its Head Start facilities and has constructed three new child development centers. The replacement Head Starts are in Tahlequah, Stilwell, Jay, Nowata and Pryor. The new CDCs are in Sallisaw, Pryor and a soon to open site in Catoosa near the tribe’s Tulsa Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Career Readiness Three-Year Plan
Secretary Bowlin and staff in the tribe’s Career Services Department drafted the tribe’s first “three-year career readiness plan,” a strategic document required under the Hoskin/Warner Administration’s Career Readiness Act.
“The Hoskin/Warner Administration and the Council have made historic investments into non-degree career training programs,” said Hunter Palmer, Director of Economic Development in the tribe’s Career Services department and a key contributor to the new three-year plan. “Our new report will help us maximize workforce development as we continue this investment.”
The three-year plan, which issued on August 27, 2026, identifies priority areas to direct the tribe’s career training grants and other support, based on labor market data and the tribe’s own workforce needs:
- Social assistance and healthcare occupations.
- Manufacturing
- Construction
- Transportation and warehousing
Chief Hoskin said the tribe will implement the three-year Career Readiness Plan in the new fiscal year, which begins October 1.
Deputy Chief Bryan Warner praised the teams that drafted the reports.
“Chief Hoskin, the Council and I were elected to lead, but we need solid analysis and data if we are to effectively meet the Cherokee peoples’ needs and expectations,” said Deputy Chief Warner. “We are very fortunate to have great leaders and staff to help guide us in these critical areas of wellness, childcare and career readiness.”
The Preliminary Report on Wellness Centers can be found here: https://cherokee.gov/media/xqmbpvi3/principal-chiefs-task-force-on-wellness-center-expansionfinal20260902.pdf
The Child Care and Development Programmatic Report can be found here: https://cherokee.gov/media/vdxplrjk/ccd_report_child-care-development_2026-aug31.pdf
The Career Readiness Act Three-Year Plan can be found at https://cherokee.gov/media/fc4jp2yc/cra-three-year-plan.pdf