TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation is looking for construction managers interested in helping the tribe build its first adult drug treatment center, which is the first of $76 million worth of capital projects Cherokee Nation is undertaking to help Cherokees struggling with substance abuse or misuse.
Details about the project and ongoing bidding requirements, including deadline to bid, are available at www.cherokeebids.org, Procurement No. 151801.
“This is one of our most meaningful and needed projects,” said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “Under the Cherokee Nation Public Health and Wellness Fund Act, we locked down opioid settlement dollars and committed them to healing. This is the first of the capital projects that will ultimately help Cherokee citizens, families and communities heal by addressing substance abuse.”
In February 2023, the Cherokee Nation unveiled plans for the 17,000-square-foot treatment center to be located in the Park Hill area of Tahlequah. Plans for the center include separate dormitories for men and women, and cultural amenities for residents such as stickball fields, basketball courts, marbles courts and more.
The Public Health and Wellness Fund Act of 2021, amended most recently in 2023, dedicates $100 million in settlement funds from opioid and e-cigarette lawsuits for a variety of public health programs, including $76 million for drug treatment capital projects. The law also dedicates 7% of the tribe’s annual third-party health insurance collected to physical and mental wellness programs, generating millions of dollars per year for those efforts.