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Oklahoma tribal leaders spent most of last week in Washington DC attending a tribal summit that included tribes from every nation in the United States. 

 

Appearing on COMMUNITY CONNECTION, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the summit was the latest version of the White House Tribal Nations Summit that originally was created by the Obama administration in 2009 but was halted in 2017.  Over 574 nations attended the summit which was the first time in six years that all tribes had attended an in-person meeting as a group.

 

During the summit, tribal leaders met with President Biden, who promised to allow tribal leaders co-stewardship on use of federal lands and waters. He also said he would work with them on the Indian Energy Purchase program to assure that Indian Country was represented accurately and fairly in any negotiations.

 

Hoskin then brought up that almost 200 years ago, the Treaty of New Echota between Cherokee Nation and the United States government was signed. Two years ago, he called on the U.S. to finally fulfill a commitment made in that treaty by seating a Cherokee Nation delegate in Congress, and I nominated Kim Teehee for the role. Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives finally held a historic hearing on this matter.

 

At the hearing, bipartisan members of the powerful House Rules Committee conveyed their support for seating our delegate. Now the House needs to hold a vote to make good on this promise.

 

Hoskin said he was proud to answer questions about the Cherokee Nation’s right to a delegate during the recent House Rules hearing. Some wondered whether seating the delegate would provide dual representation for Cherokee citizens. However, these concerns are unwarranted, because having a “delegate” is not the same as “representation” in the U.S. system. That’s why the word “delegate” was carefully chosen in the Treaty of New Echota.

 

Since the United States was founded, the term “Representative” has had a unique meaning in our constitution. To represent in the constitutional sense requires having a vote on the final passage of legislation. Since the Cherokee Nation delegate would not be able to vote on final passage, dual representation is not an issue. It works that way for delegates already in Congress, such as those from U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

 

Another concern raised was over the process of appointing the Cherokee Nation’s delegate. In the U.S. Constitution, the process of electing a Representative is clearly outlined. Likewise, the Cherokee Nation Constitution details that our delegate is appointed by the Principal Chief and confirmed by the Council of the Cherokee Nation. The Treaty of New Echota leaves the selection of a delegate up to Cherokee Nation, and the Cherokee people chose this process when they voted to approve our Constitution.

 

In 2019, as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Hoskin said he followed the constitution by nominating Kim Teehee to serve as our delegate. Her bipartisan experience in D.C. coupled with her vast policy expertise make her an exceptional choice to be our first delegate.

 

The Senate approved of the idea when they originally ratified the Treaty of New Echota. Under the U.S. Constitution, the Treaty of New Echota is already classified as the “supreme law” of the land. Now all that remains is for the House to do its duty by seating Cherokee Nation’s delegate. They can do this with one simple vote, with no need to pass a new law through the Senate and the President. Hoskin is now calling on the House of Representatives to hold a vote. 

 

Hoskin pivoted to the individual Cherokee families to the whole Cherokee Nation, saying that keeping children safe is th e Cherokee Nation's most essential responsibility. When parents go to work or school to build a better future for their family, the children need a secure, enriching environment to stay in. No parent or caregiver should have to choose between building that better future and accessing great care for their kids.

 

That’s why Cherokee Nation is launching a number of major initiatives to help our families and child care providers. This past spring, we created an Early Childhood Task Force to identify areas of opportunity and unmet early child care needs across our 14-county reservation. The task force was created under the Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act of 2021, which also invested $40 million to renovate or replace all of the tribe’s Head Start child care centers.

 

Hoskin said he knew action was needed to help families, because access to child care has declined nationwide over the past decade, and the pandemic only made it worse. The seven-member task force analyzed child care needs across our reservation and found several areas where we can fill gaps for families and child care providers.

 

One recommendation is to increase pay for the tribe’s early child care workforce. We are now in the midst of implementing a 35% pay increase for those workers. Even before that increase, Cherokee Nation already paid above the national average for child care professionals. We will provide sign-on bonuses when hiring for early child care positions and offer more educational opportunities for the early child care workforce through Cherokee Nation Career Services. Together these measures will ensure that we have more talented, well-trained workers caring for our children.

 

Cherokee Nation will also offer a child care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) seeded with $2,000 per child to all tribal government employees. This allows our employees to cover child care costs with tax-free dollars.

 

Hoskin announcec they are partnering with Cherokee Nation Businesses to build a new child care facility at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, which will bring excellent, affordable child care to thousands of employees in the area. The facility will help fill a gap in Rogers County, which is home to nearly 4,000 Cherokee children under 13 years old, second only to Cherokee County. Before this expansion, there has been three children for each available child care slot in Rogers County.

 

Cherokee Nation is also contributing an additional $5 million to the important work of local Boys & Girls Clubs, which provide after-school, summer and holiday programs for thousands of Cherokee children in the reservation.