TULSA, Okla. — As the Cherokee Nation celebrates Black History Month, they’re highlighting their investment in black communities while making sure tribal history is accurate when it comes to Freedmen.
“Embracing our history, all of it, gives us the moral clarity to build a Cherokee nation even stronger as we go forward,” said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
WATCH: Cherokee Nation focuses on accurate Freedmen history and investments at Black History Month Celebration
In a room packed to capacity at OSU-Tulsa, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. addressed the tribe’s work to accurately represent Freedmen in their history.
Chief Hoskin Jr. released the new report on this effort titled “Impact of Slavery on Cherokee Nation’s 19thCentury Economy and Infrastructure.”
“Reading this report forces us to confront the truth that we built our economy in the 19th century in part by enslaving black people under our own laws,” said Principal Chief Hoskin Jr.
Chief Hoskin Jr. said, in February, he’ll sign a new executive order to make sure that history is told.
“We’ll have opportunities to change some of our exhibits, add to our history book,” said Chief Hoskin Jr. “Perhaps a new addition to our history book. Update web content. We’ve already been doing that to some extent, but this will be a systematic, comprehensive approach because we have to do that if we want to be true to our history.”
A 2017 ruling granted Cherokee Freedmen full access to citizenship and benefits and now the nation is choosing to invest in Freedmen communities.
“Now that they have opened the door to us, it’s just something that’s exciting to everybody,” said Waynetta Lawrie.
Waynetta Lawrie, president of the North Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization, says the new $2.2 million North Tulsa Cherokee Nation Community Building is welcome news.
The space will open Feb. 19.
“We just love our people, and we try to do as much as we can for the community,” said Lawrie.
The organization has been meeting at the Dream Center for 6 years. Now, they’ll have a space of their own. Lawrie says they have about 100 members, and this center will be critical to providing the services they need.
They’ll offer a contractor, small business, and career fair, in-person Cherokee language classes, and an elder nutrition program.
Chief Hoskin Jr. says the investment and honoring of Cherokee Freedmen rights strengthens them all.
“We’ve grown stronger and I think that’s one of the reasons we’re at one of our strongest points in history right now is in part because we are reconciling with our past,” said Chief Hoskin Jr.
Chief Hoskin Jr. also showcased a new Freedmen Monument that’ll be placed at the Cherokee National History Museum in Tahlequah.
Artist Stanley Boydston designed the monument.
It should be finished in 2027.
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