Cherokee.gov: making your government easier to reach. Overview: The Cherokee Nation has launched a redesigned Cherokee.gov, replacing Cherokee.org with a more accessible, citizen-focused website. The new platform organizes services around life events, improves search capabilities and offers a mobile-friendly design, making it easier for nearly half a million Cherokee citizens to access information on health care, housing, education, careers and other services. Guest opinion. The Cherokee Nation government belongs to the Cherokee people. That principle is simple, but living up to it requires consistent work. When a citizen reaches out to their government, it almost always corresponds to an important need in their life. They may need housing assistance, an academic scholarship, health care information, career resources or even just the right phone number to call. No matter the need, Native News Online has a duty to connect them to service as directly as possible. Meeting that expectation is the primary rationale behind the newly redesigned Cherokee.gov, the official website of the Cherokee Nation. Moving from Cherokee.org to Cherokee.gov is more than a new web address. It reflects a larger commitment to make its government more accessible, more effective and more responsive to the nearly half a million Cherokees Native News Online serve daily. Cherokee people interact with their Nation in more ways today than at any point in its history. Its services have grown in health care, housing, education, language perpetuation, and community development. At the same time, its citizens are spread across the 7,000-square-mile Cherokee Nation reservation, throughout Oklahoma and around the world. Its digital presence must keep up with that growth, and with the people who depend on it. The redesigned Cherokee.gov was built with citizens at center of mind. Instead of requiring people to know which department handles what, the site is now organized around life events, so a new parent, a student or a business owner can access the programs, applications and assistance they need without guessing the right department name. Improved search tools can help citizens locate information faster than they could on the former site, and a modern design that is mobile-friendly means the site works well whether someone visits from a computer, a tablet or a cell phone. The new site also brings its government functions, executive updates and cultural resources together in one place. Native News Online is now able to offer a single, citizen-focused front door to the Cherokee Nation. Behind the scenes, its Information Technology team worked across departments to review and update the information visitors rely on most. The new site also gives Native News Online a stronger foundation to keep data current as programs expand and needs evolve. The .gov address matters, too. It tells citizens exactly what they are looking at: the official online home of the Cherokee Nation government. Only verified government entities can obtain and operate a .gov domain, which significantly increases security. This reduces the risk of spoofing, phishing and unauthorized impersonation, and it gives its citizens a trusted place to turn. In a time when people encounter information from countless sources online, Cherokees deserve to know, without question, where to find official information from their tribe. Launching a new website is not the finish line. Cherokee.gov should keep improving based on how its people use it. Native News Online will continue to refine the content, strengthen the navigation tools and find new ways for technology to work for the Cherokee people. Technology will never replace the personal relationships that matter so much in how Native News Online interact with one another. But it can remove barriers and save time, helping its employees meet the duty of helping Cherokee families get what they need. A good government meets people where they are and opens the door to opportunity. I encourage every Cherokee citizen to visit Cherokee.gov, explore the new site and make it your starting point for connecting with the government that belongs to you. Chuck Hoskin, Jr. is the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.

CN breaks ground on $400 million health center. * BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter * Aug 20, 2026 CLAREMORE, Okla. - Cherokee Nation officials ceremoniously broke ground Aug. 19 for a $400 million outpatient and emergency health center, a facility expected to nearly double the local health workforce and expand specialty care in the reservation. The anticipated opening of the 400,000-square-foot Claremore Outpatient and Emergency Health Center, fully funded through CN general funds and no borrowed or federal money, is summer 2029. It will replace the current Claremore health center, of which the Cherokee Nation took control from the Indian Health Service in October 2025. "We are building a $400 million facility in this community with an emergency room, with state-of-the-art outpatient care," Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr said. "Isn't it something that the Cherokee Nation can make a $400 million investment... because we have those dollars." Hoskin said the project is the result of an extensive push for control over healthcare delivery to Cherokees in the region. "Success has a thousand parents," he said. "Failure is an orphan. But in this case, it's not an exaggeration." The new facility will be the yield of "thousands of people who've served this Nation, who've worked in our health system, who perhaps was a patient in the health system," Hoskin said. The health center is projected to employ about 750 people, a significant increase from the 375 working at the existing Claremore location. Wayne Coldwell, chief operating officer for CN Health Services, said the design process took shape through the input of current Claremore personnel. "We wanted to hear directly from those people who work in the facility every day and who often receive feedback from the patients we serve," Coldwell said, adding that the current outpatient and emergency center would remain a priority with completion of the new construction three years away. "We are going to modernize our existing campus, improve patient flow and create a better environment for both patients and employees," Coldwell added. Deputy Speaker of the Tribal Council, Kevin Easley Jr., whose district includes Claremore, said he urged Hoskin early in his term to prioritize taking over the facility from IHS. "My very first conversation I had with Chief Hoskin, he said, 'Councilor, what do we need to accomplish in Claremore?'" Easley said. "I said, 'Chief, we've got to take over Claremore.'" Easley said he received a firm commitment. "He promised me we would get that done before I'm out of office," Easley said. Since assuming operations last October, CNHS has reported increases in patient volume in Claremore - including more than 13,000 patient services in January alone. Hoskin said such growth indicates optimum outcomes when the CN steers healthcare service for its citizens. "Health care gets better - it gets more accessible," he said. "We get to decide rather than the government of the United States who gets health care, when it's delivered, how much is delivered. The best days of this community and this health system are ahead of us." The new facility will include an emergency department, expanded specialty clinics and a 29,000-square-foot wellness center, with room designated for a future in-patient unit. Construction is being handled by Crossland Construction, with Childers Architects serving as the design firm.

Cherokee Nation celebrates healthcare milestone in Claremore. The Cherokee Nation broke ground on the new $400 million Claremore Outpatient and Emergency Health Center Tuesday, Aug. 18. The four-story, 400,000-square-foot facility will expand the Cherokee Nation's healthcare offerings in Rogers County and add many new services. Expanded services will include increased audiology appointments, pediatric and adult dental, an expanded cardiology clinic, 24/7 ultrasound, an eyeglass dispensary, increased surgical podiatry through partners, evening MRI appointments and breast biopsy services. The new health center comes after the Cherokee Nation assumed control of the former Claremore Indian Hospital from the federal government in October 2025. It was an accomplishment that took years in the making. Cherokee Nation Tribal Council Deputy Speaker Kevin Easley Jr., whose district covers Claremore, said during his first conversation with the principal chief, Hoskin asked him what needs were in Claremore. "I said, 'Chief, if we don't ever accomplish anything else, you can tell me no to everything else, but we've got to take over Claremore [hospital],'" Easley said. Easley said prior to the tribe's acquisition of the Claremore facility, there was a gap in Rogers County when it came to Cherokee healthcare. While the Claremore Indian Hospital was run by the Indian Health Service, Easley said the Cherokee Nation could not assist its citizens in need as well as it could if the tribe ran the facility. Easley said whenever he spoke with Hoskin about the tribe's running the Claremore hospital, Hoskin made a promise. "Chief Hoskin gave me a direct answer: 'We will make it happen,' that's the kind of leader he is," Easley said. "And here we are, Chief, three years later, and you made it happen." The new facility will be at 1820 S. Scissortail in Claremore, and is expected to be completed by summer 2029, according to the Cherokee Nation. Hoskin said the new facility has been a dream come true for many Cherokee citizens and healthcare workers. "It's an understatement to say that the success we're enjoying today as not only 1,000 but thousands of people who served this nation, who've worked in our health system, who perhaps was a patient in the health system, who aspired that we would come to a day when the Cherokee Nation would be running the health system here in Claremore," Hoskin said.