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Cherokee Nation is asking Jeep to change the name of its Cherokee and Grand Cherokee vehicles.

 

Appearing on COMMUNITY CONNECTION, Chief Chuck Hoskin told us about the comment coming from an interview in Car and Driver magazine.

 

Hoskin told the reporter, “I’m sure this comes from a place that is well-intended, but it does not honor us by having our name plastered on the side of a car," Chuck Hoskin, Jr., Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, told Car and Driver in a written statement responding to our request for comment on the issue. "The best way to honor us is to learn about our sovereign government, our role in this country, our history, culture, and language and have meaningful dialogue with federally recognized tribes on cultural appropriateness." 

 

Hoskin further clarified his comment to Bartlesville Radio Tuesday when he said, "The Cherokee Nation doessn't look across the country searching for a list of things that don't set well with us and create a media campaign and call them out." Hoskin, a straight shooter, said he just answered the reporter's question. 

 

Hoskin adressed the COVID-19 vaccine rollout stating that about 10% of the tribe has been vaccinated with over half of the fluent speakers vaccinated.

 

PODCAST:

 

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. gave his thoughts during a Tribal Council meeting on the decision from the tribe’s Supreme Court Monday to strike “by blood” from the CN Constitution.

 

“You read this decision, you get a sense of fulfilling a promise that our ancestors made 155 years ago in the Treaty of 1866. I think a great nation ought to be a Nation of its word, and I think the decision today reflects that we are a Nation that keeps its word,” said Hoskin.

 

The decision goes back to 2017, when a federal court determined that descendants of Freedmen, slaves once owned by members of the Cherokee Nation, have a right to tribal citizenship based of the Treaty of 1866. Attorney General Sara Hill requested the tribe’s Supreme Court address the decision and issue a ruling.

 

In doing so, the court denied a motion by tribal councilors to intervene in the 2017 case. It had originally ruled in 2017 that the 2007 amendment to the CN Constitution that limited citizenship within the Cherokee Nation to Cherokees by blood, Delaware Cherokees and Shawnee Cherokees was void. That led to the tribe accepting descendants of Freedman to register as citizens of the Cherokee Nation.

 

Hoskin said that the tribe’s response to the recent snow storm is really just beginning, as many of its citizens experienced damage from the conditions.

 

Hoskin said many of the tribe’s citizens have received plumbing damage in the form of frozen or busted pipes, leaving them in a difficult situation.

 

“We will share more details about this program within the next day or so, but because of funds that the Council of the Cherokee Nation has already made available for the Cherokee people, we are going to dedicate $4 million through a program that can help address these plumbing problems,” said Hoskin.

 

Hoskin announced a new website is up and running, detailing where the funds received from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund went. People can take a look to see where that federal funding went by visiting respondrecoverrebuild.com.