Later today, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. will speak at the White House as a part of the Tribal Nations Summit. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro.
The summit is the first in-person White House Tribal Nations Summit of the Biden-Harris Administration and is being held at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Federal officials will join tribal leaders to engage on ways to strengthen and invest in Indian Country, including language revitalization.
The Cherokee Nation estimates there are about 2,000 first-language Cherokee Speakers with an average age of 70. Chief Hoskin will speak about the tribe’s investment in language programs to establish new native speakers, which utilize federal programs.
With more than 440,000 citizens, 11,000 employees, and various tribal enterprises ranging from aerospace and defense contracts to entertainment venues, Cherokee Nation is one of the largest employers in northeastern Oklahoma and is the largest tribal nation in the United States.
The 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit gets underway this morning at 7:30 and will be live-streamed on the U.S. Department of Interiors YouTube page. For 89 9 KRPS, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro
