<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1zsyHJ_1GpXKK7i00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1zsyHJ_1GpXKK7i00" width="1500" height="1050" ><figcaption>Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner, with Secretary of State Shella Bowlin in attendance, prepare to sign an order to increase funding for elder utility and nutrition assistance Nov. 4.&nbsp; D. SEAN ROWLEY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>TAHLEQUAH – During the second day of the Cherokee Nation’s 2026 Elder Summit at the Chota Center inside Cherokee Casino Tahlequah, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner signed directives Nov. 4 that bolster utility assistance and expand eligibility for elders and add nutrition sites.“Elders on fixed incomes feel the impact of inflation the hardest and they are the least able to deal with it,” Hoskin said. “State and federal leaders should take action. Today, Cherokee Nation leaders are taking action.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ERgpR_1GpXKK7i00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ERgpR_1GpXKK7i00" width="1439" height="1037" ><figcaption>Gena Miller, of the Greasy, Oklahoma, community and Robert Bunch, of Tahlequah, were among more than 1,000 to attend the Elder Summit in Tahlequah on Nov. 4.&nbsp; D. SEAN ROWLEY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>The order uses the CN Public Health &amp; Wellness Fund Act. It raises the annual benefit under the Nation’s Elders in Need program by 50% from $400 to $600. Benefits are disbursed as payments to utility companies on behalf of on-reservation elders over 60. The directive anticipates a 200% expansion of participation from 1,400 to 4,200.The act will use $2 million per year for EIN expansion. Payments will go directly to the household’s designated utility provider and will not count as household income or be taxable.To reach 4,200 elders, the CN will make eligible any citizens 60 and older living within the reservation who are in the federally funded LIHEAP program or the Food Distribution Program. Reservation elders living in urban areas who do not qualify for the rural-oriented food program will be screened under similar income guidelines. The Department of Human Services will send information on the expansions to eligible elders in November and December.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1MzDAm_1GpXKK7i00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1MzDAm_1GpXKK7i00" width="1274" height="1626" ><figcaption>Speaker of the Tribal Council Johnny Jack Kidwell addresses the Elder Summit gathering in Tahlequah.&nbsp; D. SEAN ROWLEY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>The order adds elder nutrition sites in Tahlequah, Salina, Catoosa and Locust Grove during fiscal 2027, and renovates sites in Oaks, Foyil and Porum.More than 1,000 were in attendance for the lunch and signing in Tahlequah. Hoskin alluded to the near wholesale transfer of offices between the major parties in the Nov. 4 midterm elections, adding that the Nation’s priorities and goals remain consistent regardless of the situation in Washington, D.C., or Oklahoma City.“My friends, there were changes in the country in terms of elections, but there was no change in what the Cherokee Nation is committing itself to every single day,” Hoskin said. “We woke up today with the same governing philosophy, the same focus, and that is that this government belongs to the people. It ought to be built from the grassroots up, and if we’re going to take care of anybody in this tribe, let’s start with our elders.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0JD4si_1GpXKK7i00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0JD4si_1GpXKK7i00" width="1500" height="1170" ><figcaption>Chief of Staff Dr. Corey Bunch, left, and Secretary of Veteran Affairs S. Joe Crittenden listen to the address of Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. D. SEAN ROWLEY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>The chief also discussed the importance assigned by the Cherokee people to elders throughout their history.“There were some young leaders of a Cherokee Nation that were feeling the pressure of the United States, of stakes laid upon our lands, but the record shows that our leaders then had the wisdom to talk to their elders and not make a consequential move without the wisdom of their elders,” Hoskin said. “That is what has sustained our tribe all the way through to the 21st century, and we thank you for your service as elders to the Cherokee Nation, truly. You could go throughout the historic record and find all kinds of evidence of that.”The nutrition site measures correspond to a similar expansion the previous year, when Hoskin and Warner used the Public Health &amp; Wellness Fund Act to add sites in Bowlin Springs, Dewey and Tulsa. This latest initiative constitutes a capital investment of roughly $2.5 million from the fund.It manifests a recommendation Hoskin included in his 2026 State of the Nation address to put an elder nutrition site “within reach of every Cherokee elder on the reservation.” With implementation of the fiscal 2027 directive, eight elder nutrition sites will have been added under the Hoskin administration. Human Services manages the sites, sans those in Bowlin Springs and Locust Grove that operate through partnerships with local nonprofits.“Our elders have been there for all of us, so we should do all we can to be there for them,” Warner said. “The initiatives we signed today boost the spending power of low-income elders on a fixed income and provide more elders with access to a nutritious meal.”CN officials estimate the Elder Summit attracted more than 2,500 elders over two days. The Nov. 2 event was at the Hard Rock Hotel &amp; Casino Tulsa in Catoosa. Each included speeches from elected officials, presentations from service providers, door prizes and a complimentary meal.“I first began serving on the council in 1991, and during my different terms of service, I am very proud to see the work and the investments we are continuing to make in serving our Cherokee elders,” District 10 Councilor Melvina Shotpouch said. “I look forward to continuing that work with the council and administration.”For more information, visit cherokee.gov/departments/human-services/ or call 918-453-5422.</div></body>

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TAHLEQUAH – During the second day of the Cherokee Nation’s 2026 Elder Summit at the Chota Center inside Cherokee Casino Tahlequah, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner signed directives Nov. 4 that bolster utility assistance and expand eligibility for elders and add nutrition sites.

CN to increase funding to elder programs by $4.5 million

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TAHLEQUAH – During the second day of the Cherokee Nation’s 2026 Elder Summit at the Chota Center inside Cherokee Casino Tahlequah, Principal Chief Chuck Ho

CN to increase funding to elder programs by $4.5 million

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