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Cherokee Nation

Posted: Apr 16, 2025 9:40 AMUpdated: Apr 16, 2025 10:00 AM

Cherokee Nation Economic Impact Report

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Tom Davis
Recently, Cherokee Nation announced its latest economic impact report. Appearing on COMMUNITY CONNECTION, Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the biannual report is an analysis of financial reach throughout our 14-county reservation. 
 
Hoskin said, "Once again, the math shows continued growth in our economic reach — now at $3.14 billion annually. It’s a big number and hard to truly grasp. First and foremost, it means Cherokee Nation is an economic powerhouse, fueling Cherokee communities and pushing our entire region to new heights. But it’s more than dollars and data."
 
Hoskin said the impact encompasses the value of our services to improve lives and ease the financial burden on Cherokee families.
 
According to Hoskin, "In education alone, we provided school clothing vouchers to 74,000 children, food vouchers for 10,000 students during summer months and $17.6 million in scholarships," adding, "Standouts to me include our job generation. More than 14,500 jobs, paying $785 million in wages, are directly from Cherokee Nation and our investments."
 
THe Chief explained that Economic impact isn’t a one-to-one exchange. He said that a dollar spent on the construction of a child care center, for example, supports far more than just labor and materials. We buy materials from local vendors and hire local contractors and tradespeople, which help those workers support their families. In turn, they spend their earnings in local shops, restaurants and services — some even go on to use that same child care center themselves. 
 
Beyond Cherokee Nation's direct employment and wages, Cherokee Nation indirectly supports many more jobs. The overall job footprint includes $1.2 billion in wages and 23,000 jobs.
 
Other highlights include:
 
!nvestment in Cherokee-and Native-owned businesses: Cherokee Nation conducted $150 million worth of business within our own Native community, which is a 39.7% increase beyond the previous impact report.As we invested in business, we also continued growth of services. 
 
Housing: Rehabilitation to 120 homes and rental assistance for 2,368 families. 
 
Cherokee Nation tribal courts: They  heard 6,514 court cases, an increase of more than 440% since the McGirt ruling.
 
Investment in  health services: Cherokee Nation facilitated 1.59 million patient visits and filled 1.8 million prescriptions in 2023. All our health services continued growth as construction is underway to replace the 40-year-old Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital.
 
Hoskin said that each of these investments has a common denominator. Every dollar is strategically placed to bring stability, opportunity and prosperity to Cherokee families and the communities we cherish.
 

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