BOWLIN SPRING, Okla. — Cherokee Nation leaders met with nearly 100 community members and leaders from the local Cherokee non-profit organization People’s Community Inc. on May 26 to celebrate the opening of a new community building.
The new facility — People’s Community Center — will provide the community with a place to hold meetings, host family activities and to learn about Cherokee culture and language. The building also provides future opportunities for Cherokee Nation programs and services to be available to Cherokee citizens in the area.
“This is a great moment as we open this wonderful community building,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “It’s a community building, but it’s really about building community. And it’s about building a community that has been here for a long time. Toward the end of the 19th century, people founded this community and it stood the test of time. It’s a small community, but it’s got a big heart. It’s a small community, but it’s got big ambition. And for the Cherokee Nation to get behind that ambition and that heart with some resources, that I think we’re bound to invest in this way, is particularly special.”
The Cherokee Nation funded the nearly $2 million, 7,500-square-foot community building under the Housing, Jobs & Sustainable Communities Act signed into law by Chief Hoskin in 2019. The Act initially set aside $30 million for housing projects and for improving communities through grassroots efforts. In 2022, the Act was amended to provide an additional $120 million toward housing and community efforts across the Cherokee Nation.
“After two years, we are so pleased to finally have this come to fruition,” said Charles Bowlin, a leader with People’s Community Inc. in Bowlin Spring. “The final result is great, and we’re extremely proud of this building. It’s something the community will be proud of for many years to come. It really means everything to us, and we hope it spurs new activity in this community.”
In 2018, the People’s Community Inc. group became one of the nearly 70 official Cherokee community organizations that work with Cherokee Nation’s Community and Cultural Outreach department.
“This is just a wonderful community with wonderful folks,” Deputy Chief Bryan Warner said. “Let’s not stop today. Let’s continue this fellowship with one another as we move forward and as we make plans to provide shelter for future generations.”
Bowlin Spring was founded in 1879 by Cherokee citizens, including those of freedmen descent.
The building is located at 428099 E 270 Road, 10 miles north of Chelsea and 13 miles east of Vinita.
Anna May Dockins, who grew up with her family on the property that the new facility was built on, said there’s an excitement in Bowlin Spring about this new community building and what it means for the future.
“People are excited, because Bowlin Spring used to be a booming little town. I just want to see it come back, and I hope this is just the beginning,” she said.
Dockins said her favorite part about the new community building is the kitchen and the possibilities that brings for her community.
“I love to cook, and that’s one of my goals: I want to cook for people in need,” she said.