TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and other Cherokee Nation leaders gathered with Tahlequah community members and Sequoyah High School students to celebrate the opening of two new construction projects completed under the $65 million Sequoyah High School Capital Plan.
First proposed by Chief Hoskin at his 2024 State of the Nation address, the Sequoyah High School Capital Plan called for the largest capital investment in the school’s history.
“This phase is focused on upgrading the Sequoyah campus to a world-class school campus,” said Chief Hoskin. “Under the leadership of Chief Mankiller we assumed control of this facility and have been making improvements since then. We need to make a school responsive to the students’ needs.”
Construction of the newly completed 51,635 square-foot Academic Building features 20 classrooms, a media center, administrative offices, a courtyard, an outdoor basketball and pickleball court and more.
“The building is finished but the work is just beginning, we’re going to build on the excellence that Sequoyah High School is known for,” said Executive Director of Education Services Aaron Emberton. “Our main goal is to provide a safe learning environment for students and staff, we will continue to be the leaders in education throughout Indian Country and the nation.”
The 65,515 square-foot Multi-Purpose Facility brings major quality-of-life upgrades to the campus. Included in the new Multi-Purpose Facility is:
- An indoor turf practice field with multi-sport striping
- Collapsable batting cages
- Overhead radiant heaters
- High-velocity ceiling fans
- External garage doors for air ventilation
- Outdoor turf space for training
- A large indoor weightroom
- Shared office spaces and workstations
- Four golf simulator bays
- A cheer practice space
- Locker rooms with showers
The Sequoyah High School Capital Plan authorized investments into remodeled dorms, a multi-purpose facility, an auditorium, improvements to the football field and a new academic building.
The football field improvements, dorms, multi-purpose facility and academic building are all complete. The auditorium is expected to open by the end of the calendar year.
During the ceremony, Chief Hoskin announced that plans are in development to remodel space within the current academic buildings for the Sequoyah band program.
“It’s a very special feeling to have seen the growth of Sequoyah High School from outside the school system, and now from within,” said Terry Heustis, Sequoyah High School superintendent. “How far we have come since 1871, these buildings are unbelievable. In the coming weeks we’ll have an open house for parents to come see this impressive investment.”
The Council of the Cherokee Nation unanimously voted to pass the capital plan for the improvements to the campus. District 2 Councilor Candessa Tehee represented the tribe’s legislative branch with remarks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“There is something particularly fitting about opening a facility like this at a Cherokee school. Our Cherokee word for 'teaching' carries the idea of showing. Teaching is not simply telling someone something. It is showing them how, giving them the opportunity to do it themselves, and allowing them to learn through experience,” said District 2 Councilor Dr. Candessa Tehee. “That is what I see when I look at this new academic building and multipurpose facility. We are giving our young people more opportunities to learn by doing, whether that is in the classroom, through athletics, through the arts, or through the many other experiences that help shape who they become.”
Cherokee Nation operates Sequoyah High School under a contract with the Bureau of Indian Education on a 90-acre campus within the tribe’s capital of Tahlequah.
The school began as the Cherokee Orphan Asylum in 1871. It operated as a federal Indian boarding school in the 1930s and 1940s until the tribe acquired it in 1985.