At the core of governance is a cycle of evaluating the needs of our people and identifying resources to meet those needs. That’s government in action at its most basic level.
At Cherokee Nation, we’re constantly engaging with our citizens, learning about their family or community needs, and leveraging resources to enable the best outcomes. In small and large ways, our obligation is to maintain that dialogue and find opportunities to improve services for the Cherokee people.
Deputy Chief Bryan Warner and I recently announced a major new initiative to scale the Cherokee Nation Foundation to new heights. By executive order, we established a task force to reimagine and relaunch the foundation to build on its demonstrated success and open the foundation to new resource streams.
First and foremost, the foundation as it stands today with a focus on education and supplemental scholarships to empower youth isn’t going anywhere. That mission will continue and the people who have made that work so successful will continue to empower youth and help students achieve academic success.
In fact, it’s their success in securing endowed funds for dedicated scholarships that set us down this path.
We see social and economic needs throughout the Cherokee Nation Reservation and beyond that require unique, dedicated support programs. As a tribal government, we’re positioned to take on major, sweeping needs like housing, health and cultural preservation, to name a few.
However, narrowly focused programs don’t necessarily thrive under a government structure.
We can build a house and manage a pathway to ownership for a Cherokee family in need. But where does that family go for intangibles that make a house a home? Maybe it’s additional furniture, cleaning supplies or toys for kids. That’s where community steps in.
An expanded foundation could solicit donations from Cherokee families and organizations in our community, leveraging every dollar to support the needs of Cherokee families.
While that’s just one example, my desire for the task force is to reimagine the foundation as a whole. Just as the foundation grew from serving just 50 students in 2005 to more than 5,000 students this year, a reimagined foundation must be designed to scale and change alongside our nation for generations.
It’s time to unleash the foundation, so that it can grow and continue its next chapter of success in meeting the ever-changing needs of Cherokee families.
Wado,
Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Principal Chief
