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Posted: Aug 26, 2019 2:46 PMUpdated: Aug 26, 2019 6:26 PM

EXCLUSIVE: New Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Hoskin on KWON

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Tom Davis
 
He has been in office for less than a month and already Cherokee Nation's Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr is hitting the ground running.
 
Chief Hoskin stopped by the KWON studios Monday to speak with us about some things that are coming out of Cherokee Nation. Hoskin prouldy announced two signifcant moves: a waiver he persuaded the UDA to grant that wiil provide food distribution to eligible Cherokees living in Bartlesville and that he plans to send a Cherokee Nation Delegate to the U-S Congress.
 
Chief Hoskin said, "The U.S. Department of Agriculture just approved a waiver request by Cherokee Nation that allows the tribe to serve citizens living in Bartlesville through its food distribution program. Until the waiver approval, citizens eligible for the tribe’s Food Distribution Program that lived in Bartlesville could not receive benefits due to residing in an urban area. Under Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations regulations, an urban place is defined as having a population of 10,000 or more."
 
He added, "It's a good day when the United States and Cherokee Nation agree on things."
 
“We are appreciative that the U.S. Department of Agriculture recognized the need and approved the waiver that allows our tribe to better serve its citizens,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “The food distribution program can mean everything to a family, and it is so great that we will be able to now extend that blessing to tribal citizens living in the city of Bartlesville.”
 
Currently, the Cherokee Nation Food Distribution Program serves about 5,100 households per month through its seven food distribution centers inside the tribe’s jurisdiction. The USDA waiver allows the tribe to fill a service gap area of about 3,118 Cherokee Nation citizens in Bartlesville. Cherokees from Bartlesville will soon be able to use the Collinsville or Nowata distribution centers.
 
Chief Hoskin beamed a bit when asked about his announcement that the tribe is taking an historic initial step to enact the Cherokee Nation’s treaty right to send a delegate to the U.S. Congress.
 
Cheif Hoskin said, "The Cherokee Nation delegate is referenced in both the Treaty of Hopewell from 1785 and Treaty of New Echota from 1835 between the Cherokee Nation and federal government. The Treaty of 1866 also reaffirms all previous treaties between the Cherokee Nation and United States."
 
Chief Hoskin’s Congressional delegate nomination is part of his “First 100 Days in Office” initiatives and is aimed at strengthening the tribe’s sovereignty.
 
“As Native issues continue to rise to the forefront of the national dialogue, now is the time for Cherokee Nation to execute a provision in our treaties. It’s a right negotiated by our ancestors in two treaties with the federal government and reaffirmed in the Treaty of 1866, and reflected in our Constitution. At Cherokee Nation, we are exercising our treaty rights and strengthening our sovereignty,” Chief Hoskin said. “We know this is just the beginning and there is much work ahead, but we are being thorough in terms of implementation and ask our leaders in Washington to work with us through this process and on legislation that provides the Cherokee Nation with the delegate to which we are lawfully entitled.”
 
Chief Hoskin said. "The Cherokee Nation has been committed to honoring its treaty obligations and hopes the federal government will follow suit. The Cherokee Nation honors its treaties with the United States. Whether the United States will likewise honor its promises to the Cherokee Nation is a question that only its elected leaders can answer.” Chief Hoskin said.
 
Chief Hoskin also announced he is nominating Kim Teehee, the tribe’s current vice president of government relations, to serve as the delegate. Teehee’s nomination must be confirmed by the Council of the Cherokee Nation at a special meeting Aug. 29.
 
“Kim Teehee has worked for years advocating in Congress, on a bi-partisan basis, for the interests of Cherokee Nation and is supremely qualified for this post,” Chief Hoskin said. “We are eager to take the recommendation before the Council of the Cherokee Nation and work with our Congressional delegation from Oklahoma to move this historic appointment forward.”
 
Before being named the tribe’s vice president of government relations in 2014, Teehee served President Barack Obama as the first-ever senior policy advisor for Native American affairs in the White House Domestic Policy Council for three years. Prior to serving in the White House, she was senior advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives Native American Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Dale Kildee D-MI. Serving the bi-partisan caucus for nearly 12 years, she established an impressive record of accomplishments on a wide array of Native American issues, including appropriations, education, economic development, energy, health care, housing, agriculture and transportation.
 

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