Chief Hoskin delivers final State of the Nation Address, calls his final months ‘no season of rest’

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. delivered his eighth and final State of the Nation Address Saturday as part of the 74th annual Cherokee National Holiday, reflecting on a transformative era of language revitalization, record housing investment, expanded health care and a strengthened defense of Cherokee sovereignty.

Chief Hoskin, who will term out of office on August 14, 2027, told hundreds of citizens gathered in Tahlequah that the Cherokee Nation is resilient and strong for the next seven generations.

Across two terms following the 2019 elections, the Hoskin/Warner Administration faced record challenges including a global public health crisis, an aging Cherokee Speaker population, challenges from the state governor and an overnight transformation of its criminal justice system in the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court McGirt decision.

"It is my honor and privilege to report to the Cherokee people on the state of our great Nation for the eighth and final time," Chief Hoskin said. "I can report to you with confidence that the state of our Nation is strong."

The Hoskin/Warner Administration navigated the Cherokee people through the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting Cherokee Speakers, and met the demands of the post-McGirt era by expanding a system of public safety, law enforcement and justice following the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision

Reflecting on the work of the Hoskin/Warner Administration since taking office in 2019, Chief Hoskin pointed to more than $1 billion invested in the tribe's health care system, which expanded access to primary care by 60% and behavioral health by 350%.

In his address, Chief Hoskin remarked on major milestones in the growth of the tribe's health care system, including the completion of the new W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah and the recent ground breaking of a new health campus in Claremore.

Chief Hoskin lauded the tribe's Public Health and Wellness Fund Act for supporting new wellness centers and grants, which he described as part of the laws "wellness dividend" without reliance on federal funding.

Language and culture remain central to the administration's mission.

Under the Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act, the Cherokee Nation invested $182 million to preserve and revitalize the Cherokee language, creating 123 high-level second language speakers, providing essential needs to more than 1,000 first-language fluent speakers, and delivering over 200,000 hours of language lessons to citizens near and far.

"My fellow Cherokees, we are not content to simply save our language," Chief Hoskin said. "We are on a mission to revitalize our language in our lifetime."

Chief Hoskin announced that he would nominate Howard Paden, the Language Department's executive director, as the tribe's first Secretary of Language and Culture.

The administration also delivered record investments in housing, building 730 homes and repairing 3,885 others since 2019 through the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, which commits $40 million in tribal funds every three years without relying on federal dollars.

In addition to delivering record setting housing funds, HJSCA expanded the tribe's community building footprint. In his address Chief Hoskin cited the construction of 11 new community buildings with three more under construction as measures of success of the landmark law.

Chief Hoskin also highlighted over the past seven years building a new substance use treatment facility with Opioid Settlement funds to open later this year, expanding elder nutrition, increasing higher education scholarships, the creation of Gadugi Corps, construction of a new Cherokee Heritage Center and helping entrepreneurs with Opportunity Zones.

In his address, Chief Hoskin outlined priorities for his final year in office.

He proposed a massive child care investment, including new Child Development Centers to be built in Tahlequah and Vinita, grants for Cherokee entrepreneurs to open or expand child care centers, and expanded Head Start hours for working families.

Chief Hoskin also called for at least $2 million annually to reimburse Cherokees, including at-large citizens, for job training expenses under the Career Readiness Act, on top of hundreds of millions of dollars invested in education and training programs under the administration

Chief Hoskin further proposed making the Artist Recovery Act permanent through a new Artist Resiliency Act, continuing an effort that has invested $4 million in Cherokee artists, funded more than 3,800 hours of community art classes and added 601 pieces of Cherokee art to the tribe's collection. The current ARA expires on September 30.

Chief Hoskin, noting that he had less than one year remaining in office due to the tribal constitution's two consecutive term limits, told the audience at the Cherokee Nation Peace Pavilion that "the Bible says, for every time there is a season," but that his remaining days in office would be "no season of rest."

"This is a season of momentum that cannot be stopped even 343 days from now when we pass the baton," Chief Hoskin said. "Let us work so that on that final day we can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that our nation is strong and that the best days of the Cherokee Nation are still ahead of us."

Saturday's ceremony was part of the 74th annual Cherokee National Holiday, which included a parade through downtown Tahlequah, Cherokee art vendors, traditional games and intertribal powwow.

"The Cherokee Nation is as strong as she has ever been with record achievements these past seven years, and we know the citizens have access to more health, more childcare, more housing, more learning and other services to meet their needs well into the future," Deputy Chief Warner added.

Deputy Chief Warner also completes his second consecutive term as Deputy Chief next August along with Chief Hoskin.

Johnny Jack Kidwell, Speaker of the Council, said he is proud of the work of the Council and that he and his colleagues look forward to working with Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner to continue that work.

"We have made a lot of progress on behalf of the Cherokee people," said Speaker Kidwell, "Our strong working relationship must continue."

Download the 2026 State of the Nation Transcript

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