TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation leaders gathered Sept. 27 at the ᎦᎵᏦᏕ Galitsode Housing Addition to celebrate as Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. officially signed legislation permanently reauthorizing the tribe’s landmark Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act.
Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner first proposed the permanent expansion of the legislation, including at least $40 million in funding every three years, during the State of the Nation Address on Aug. 31. The Council of the Cherokee Nation approved the legislation during a special meeting Sept. 26 in Tahlequah.
“In 2019, Deputy Chief Warner and I contemplated what the future would look like without a framework of investment for housing needs. From that discussion, we proposed and the Council supported the historic Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, which was set to expire in 2025. This Act has grown over the past five years to be a total $120 million investment into Cherokee housing and community infrastructure, helping us build hundreds of new homes and provide even more replacement homes and home rehabs, with many more under construction or being planned,” Chief Hoskin said.
More than 2,800 housing projects have been initiated or finished since the initial Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act was signed into law in 2019 by Chief Hoskin.
“We have an opportunity to lead on solving the housing crisis. Cherokee Nation did not cause this crisis. The United States has a duty to solve this crisis, but always falls short when it comes to meeting its housing obligations to Indian Country,” Chief Hoskin said. “The Cherokee Nation has never been a nation that waits for others to come to the rescue. So, with an opportunity to meet housing needs in front of us and resources at our disposal, we must lead. The permanent expansion of the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act puts Cherokee Nation on a path to commit $40 million every three years into perpetuity, mostly from our business profits, with 85% for housing and 15% for community buildings. The new HJSCA calls on us to develop three-year housing plans for each funding cycle, with the ability to adjust the plan as we go.”
A comprehensive housing study by the Cherokee Nation predicts a deficit of $1.75 billion in housing for the region over the next decade for Cherokee citizens, and a projected 8,800 to 9,400 units of all types and price points being needed over those 10 years, emphasizing the critical need for this strategic investment.
“We know there is a shortage of housing that is not unique to Cherokee Nation. Unfortunately, the problem is everywhere. It impacts citizens of our nation in the form of high rents, scarcity of available housing and insufficient paths to home ownership. So we decided to look at how we can make this less of a problem and more of an opportunity to help Cherokee families,” Deputy Chief Warner said. “Under this expanded housing legislation, more families and individuals will have access to safe and comfortable housing. It’s fitting that we officially signed this expanded legislation into law at the Cherokee Nation’s new Galitsode Housing Addition, which is a great example of what’s possible when we work together to ease the housing burden on our families.”
Following Friday’s legislation signing, nine Cherokee families officially received the keys to their new homes inside the Cherokee Nation’s Galitsode Housing Addition, one of multiple new housing additions completed or under construction by the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation thanks to the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act.
“We have made great progress in helping Cherokee families rehab their homes and build new homes over the past five years. I applaud the Council for working together with Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner to invest even more resources into housing for our people,” said Speaker of the Council Mike Shambaugh.