TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation is receiving a $10.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to install 112 publicly accessible electric vehicle charging ports across 12 community locations. The project will place chargers in prominent destinations like parks and health centers. The initiative supports the Cherokee Nation’s clean energy goals and President Biden’s Justice 40 initiative, ensuring that nearly the entire reservation is within 25 miles of charging infrastructure.
“Our goal at the Cherokee Nation is to reduce our carbon footprint by 25 percent by 2027, and we continue to make these strides,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “This latest federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will help us continue to add even more electric vehicle charging stations across the Cherokee Nation Reservation as more consumers purchase electric vehicles and need places to charge.”
Proposed sites for EV Charging stations include properties owned by the Cherokee Nation in Ochelata, Jay, South Coffeyville, Nowata, Tahlequah, Stilwell, Grove, Salina, Vinita and Tulsa.
EV charging stations now exist throughout the tribe’s reservation including Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Cherokee Casino Tahlequah, Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center in Vinita and Cherokee Nation’s W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex government office.
“The provision of clean, smart, and fair energy within the reservation is a priority for my office and the Principal Chief. This project expands upon previous efforts to ensure the availability of clean energy for tribal citizens and create an environment where electric vehicles become more feasible for everyone,” said Cherokee Nation Secretary of Natural Resources Christina Justice. “As the only recipient of these funds, within Oklahoma, this will be a cornerstone project for the advancement of clean energy for all citizens, both tribal and non-tribal, who travel, work, and live within the reservation. "
The Cherokee Nation built one of the first solar canopies in Oklahoma at its headquarters in Tahlequah. The structure is used to charge Cherokee Nation’s electric fleet vehicles and the rising number of electric cars driven by staff and visitors to its tribal complex.
Cherokee Nation has identified 12 project locations for EV charging infrastructure deployment to maximize accessibility and encourage EV adoption within tribal communities. All sites are on tribal land, 67% are less than two miles from multi-housing units, 58% are in rural areas, and 17% are in low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities.
Cherokee Nation will contract funds to Francis Energy, a local and longtime partner in clean energy initiatives. Francis Energy owns and operates one of the largest network of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the country, and in 2019, built out the first contiguous, statewide network of direct current fast chargers (DCFC) in the nation.