Visitor Opinion. As Cherokee Nation residents, we draw energy from those that got here earlier than us. Our elders are the inspiration of our communities, the keepers of our historical past, and the center of our households. As we gathered just lately for the annual Cherokee Elder Summit, we renewed a promise to care for individuals who have confirmed us the way in which.
That promise is taking form by means of a serious growth of our elder diet companies, backed by as much as $2 million from the tribe’s Public Well being and Wellness Fund.
This funding will increase meals entry, create new diet websites, and strengthen help for Cherokee elders throughout our 7,000-square-mile reservation in northeast Oklahoma. It’s greater than an infrastructure undertaking, it’s a dedication to meals safety, long-term wellness, and private dignity.
The growth begins with a brand new elder diet website in Dewey, becoming a member of an present partnership with a neighborhood Cherokee group group. Two extra websites will comply with, recognized by means of information and group want. By listening to our elders and assessing the place the gaps exist, we’re guaranteeing that no group is missed and that each Cherokee elder can share within the safety of a heat meal and a welcoming area.
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr.
Within the coming 12 months, meal service in any respect websites will improve to 5 days per week. These meals are excess of diet, they’re moments for fellowship, laughter, and coming collectively to share a meal and tales. These are the sort of values that bind us as Cherokee folks.
We additionally introduced our choice to rename the Senior Vitamin Program because the Cherokee Nation Elder Vitamin Program, reflecting this deeper sense of cultural respect. It honors our Cherokee beliefs of valuing each other and leaving no Cherokee behind. And it’s vital we look after each other by means of each season of life.
This effort is a component of a bigger imaginative and prescient: to verify each Cherokee elder can age with safety, independence, and connection to our tribal tradition. That features investing in a community of group gathering areas, upgrading kitchens and eating areas, and guaranteeing transportation choices for individuals who dwell shut by. It additionally contains creating alternatives for cultural enrichment, like discipline journeys, Cherokee language actions, and intergenerational occasions that deliver youth and elders collectively in significant methods.
By 2026, each website will endure a full evaluation to make sure elders have entry to secure, fashionable, and welcoming areas. Neighborhood companions will obtain help by means of new Elder Vitamin Associate Grants, reinforcing the shared duty that all of us must take care of probably the most susceptible amongst us.
Moreover, Cherokee Nation is increasing meals help for Cherokee households nationwide by authorizing an emergency spherical of Supplemental Vitamin Help Program (SNAP) help for eligible Cherokee households to assist fill the hole attributable to the federal authorities shutdown.
Our one-time, direct growth – funded by means of the Public Well being and Wellness Fund – will present further grocery help throughout a time when rising prices and federal delays are straining household budgets. This motion ensures that Cherokees, irrespective of the place they dwell, aren’t left behind and have entry to extra meals spending energy at a time when the federal SNAP program has been decreased to partial funds as a consequence of federal dysfunction. It’s one other instance of Cherokee Nation stepping up when others fail to behave, reinforcing that our dedication to meals safety extends to each Cherokee citizen throughout the USA.
As for our elders, far too many nonetheless face the grim actuality of starvation, isolation and different boundaries to well being and happiness. Cherokee Nation is altering that story. By investing in meals safety and elder care, we’re constructing a stronger, extra compassionate Nation, one which by no means forgets those that taught us what it means to be Cherokee.
Caring for our elders isn’t simply coverage, however slightly our lifestyle. After we feed our elders, we’re feeding the roots of our Nation, guaranteeing that the knowledge, energy and compassion proceed to nourish our folks for generations to return.
Chuck Hoskin, Jr. is the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.