The foundation of community strength across the Cherokee Nation Reservation begins with stable, secure housing. Unfortunately, no community large or small is immune to the national housing crisis — a long-term housing shortage that has driven up home prices and pushed homeownership out of reach for many. Today, we are addressing this crisis through visionary actions and innovative growth.

Cherokee Nation is the first tribe in the country to implement a skilled worker housing program, uniquely designed to meet one of the most pressing challenges facing our workforce. The effort not only supports needed housing, but it also attracts skilled workers to the jobs and communities where they are needed most.

This new approach is one small part of a much larger Cherokee Nation housing effort structured around our recent housing study, which shows $1.75 billion in unmet housing needs across the reservation.

The study revealed a spectrum of needs: transitional housing for people experiencing housing insecurity and low- and medium-income housing, including rental properties. Just as important as new housing, the study emphasized rehabilitation and maintenance of existing homes to keep them from falling out of the market due to time and disrepair.

The study showed us that there is no silver bullet to fix the housing shortage, but we know all efforts to maintain existing homes and create new housing will alleviate the strain for Cherokee families, no matter their housing status.

In recent years, the Cherokee Nation has made the largest housing investment in our history. Through the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, we have directed budget dollars to new construction, rehabilitation, and housing support services across our reservation. Our new HUD 184 Skilled Worker initiative is a small but powerful portion of our overall investment for the Cherokee people.

In 2019, we began with a $30 million investment to rehabilitate housing and construct new community gathering spaces for our elders. We expanded these vital efforts in 2022, dedicating $120 million to both new and existing housing programs. Last year, we permanently secured this commitment. By utilizing profits from Cherokee Nation Businesses, in addition to federal funding, we are dedicating $40 million every three years to support housing and community facilities across the reservation.

The challenge — other than the daunting amount of housing needed — is to identify efficient methods of housing investment that support our strategic goals. This new program does just that. Through an innovative partnership between the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation and our tribal programs, we are leveraging the federal HUD Section 184 Skilled Workers Demonstration Loan Program to construct housing tied directly to our workforce needs.

This partnership will provide safe, affordable homes for Cherokee Nation employees in critical fields such as law enforcement, health care, education, language preservation, and other skilled trades. These are positions that are essential for our government to deliver vital services to Cherokees — yet they are often the most difficult to fill.

However, we are not gifting homes. The housing remains a Cherokee Nation asset, that may be sold to the tenant at market rate if they remain part of the program. The program is designed like an employee benefit to offer affordable housing with low risk to recruited workers and their families.

We began this effort with our Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, in one of the new housing additions that Cherokee Nation is developing in Tahlequah. There are opportunities in other communities like Jay, Sallisaw and Muskogee, where tribal-housing shortages remain critical.

That’s why new homes are far more than just places to live in: They are strategic tools to recruit, retain and support the dedicated workforce that keeps our communities secure, healthy and growing.

We are proud to lead the way with this first-of-its-kind program. We remain steadfast in our commitment to continuing this vital work — building homes, strengthening our communities and families, and keeping our promise to uplift one another. When Cherokee families have a place to call home, our Nation grows stronger for generations to come.

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