{"id":29217,"date":"2022-10-31T00:01:26","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T04:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=29217"},"modified":"2022-10-31T09:23:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T13:23:11","slug":"chuck-hoskin-cherokee-nation-takes-huge-stride-for-food-sovereignty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/10\/31\/chuck-hoskin-cherokee-nation-takes-huge-stride-for-food-sovereignty\/","title":{"rendered":"Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation takes huge stride for food sovereignty"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_www-youtube-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bUYJkWWzzcQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/18\/maxresdefault-500.jpg\" alt=\"Cherokee Nation celebrates opening of 1839 Cherokee Meat Co.\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bUYJkWWzzcQ\">\n\t\t\tCherokee Nation celebrates opening of 1839 Cherokee Meat Co.\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bUYJkWWzzcQ\">\n\t\t\t<p>TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma \u2014 Cherokee Nation leadership and executives from Cherokee Nation Businesses joined federal and state officials, as well as local communit&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/s\/desktop\/7cb556f8\/img\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"YouTube\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Cherokee Nation Video: <a href=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bUYJkWWzzcQ>Cherokee Nation celebrates opening of 1839 Cherokee Meat Co.<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Food production brings freedom, security and economic boost to Cherokee Nation<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Monday, October 31, 2022<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChuckHoskin_Jr\"><I aria-hidden=true class=\"fab fa-twitter\"><\/I><\/A><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Cherokee Nation<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-links\"><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/www.cherokee.org\/\">cherokee.org<\/A><\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n \r\nFor the Cherokee people and for people everywhere, true freedom is impossible without control over our own food supply. Tribal nations have long suffered the ill effects of being pushed out of our lands, denied our well-developed traditional strategies for food production, and forced to rely on outside sources for the food we consume.\r\n <P><\/P>\r\nFood insecurity stemming from historical trauma has lowered the health and life expectancy of many Native Americans. Unfortunately, one in six Oklahomans struggle with hunger, and one in four are food insecure, which means they lack consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle. Those numbers are even higher among Native households.\r\n <P><\/P>\r\nAs the Cherokee people navigated through the pandemic, our food systems were tested even more. During the crisis, we saw more clearly how our food supply was vulnerable to disruption. The pandemic made clearer what many local ranchers, farmers and others in the agriculture industry already knew \u2013 that there is a great need in our region to expand capacity for local, sustainable meat processing.\r\n <P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_www-facebook-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/1839CherokeeMeatCo\/posts\/pfbid02wMpuAtgkbaBi7tVw3ndsSYrmYCb4mi9porwadddetgvrVxVGYcTyTW6dpyjLWexSl\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/18\/468817916_539255762310745_4294152854993265418_n.jpg\" alt=\"1839 Cherokee Meat Co.\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/1839CherokeeMeatCo\/posts\/pfbid02wMpuAtgkbaBi7tVw3ndsSYrmYCb4mi9porwadddetgvrVxVGYcTyTW6dpyjLWexSl\">\n\t\t\t1839 Cherokee Meat Co.\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/1839CherokeeMeatCo\/posts\/pfbid02wMpuAtgkbaBi7tVw3ndsSYrmYCb4mi9porwadddetgvrVxVGYcTyTW6dpyjLWexSl\">\n\t\t\t<p>Today, Cherokee Nation, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and guests celebrated the grand opening of 1839 Cherokee Meat Co. in Tahlequah. Following the ribbon cutting, attendees were invited to take a&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.xx.fbcdn.net\/rsrc.php\/y1\/r\/ay1hV6OlegS.ico\" alt=\"www.facebook.com\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\twww.facebook.com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe meat processing industry, across the United States, is largely controlled by a handful of corporate processors. This is bad for farmers and ranchers as well as consumers. It also means that our tribe\u2019s economy sees millions of dollars annually flow outside of our reservation instead of circulating within it. All of this impacts the Cherokee people and our friends and neighbors in a negative way.\r\n <P><\/P>\r\nAll of this is why we have launched the 1839 Cherokee Meat Co. This newly opened 12,000 square foot meat processing facility in Tahlequah is a huge stride towards food sovereignty for the Cherokee Nation. The facility, which is operated by the tribe\u2019s business arm, is already providing meat processing for local producers and providing our communities with safe, high-quality meat. They offer a variety of meats, including beef and pork, with buffalo and wild game processing of deer and elk available in the future.\r\n <P><\/P>\r\nThe facility will continue growing and will eventually establish a farm-to-table operation with Cherokee Nation\u2019s bison herd to supplement our traditional food distribution program for elders and families in need.\r\n <P><\/P>\r\nThe 1839 Cherokee Meat Co. is our boldest effort yet to reclaim our food sovereignty and strengthen our economy by keeping more of the dollars that we spend on food within the great Cherokee Nation reservation. Ranchers, farmers and others in the agriculture industry work extremely hard to keep our families fed and our economy moving. It is in the national interest of the Cherokee Nation that they have fair access to the marketplace. By directly addressing the meat processing shortage with our own facility, we support locally sourced food for the benefit of Cherokee citizens and the region\u2019s economy.\r\n <P><\/P>\r\nA responsible government puts a high priority on making food easier to produce, process, and distribute for all citizens. That\u2019s why the Cherokee Nation government, including Deputy Chief Bryan Warner and I, our cabinet, the Council of the Cherokee Nation and tribal government staff, work every day to make sure Cherokee families can get enough healthy food. We have listened to the concerns and requests of our citizens.\r\n <P><\/P>\r\nTo learn more about the 1839 Cherokee Meat Co. and inquire about processing services, visit <a href=https:\/\/1839cherokeemeatco.com>1839cherokeemeatco.com<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<HR><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-md-3\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/23\/chuckhoskinavatar.jpg\" alt=\"Chuck Hoskin Jr\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" class=\"rounded-circle\" \/><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-md-9\"><EM><A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChuckHoskin_Jr\">Chuck Hoskin Jr.<\/A> \r\nis the 18th elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, the largest Indian \r\ntribe in the United States. He is only the second elected Principal Chief of the \r\nCherokee Nation from Vinita, the first being Thomas Buffington, who served from \r\n1899-1903. Prior to being elected Principal Chief, Hoskin served as the tribe\u2019s \r\nSecretary of State. He also formerly served as a member of the Council of the \r\nCherokee Nation, representing District 11 for six years.<\/EM><\/div><\/div><HR>\r\n <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31\/CherokeeNation-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"1839 Cherokee Meat Co.\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\" class=\"invisible\" \/> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the Cherokee people and for people everywhere, true freedom is impossible without control over our own food supply.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11,19,9],"tags":[379,1961,77,76,5,71,40,127,220],"class_list":["post-29217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-health","category-opinion","tag-bison","tag-bryan-warner","tag-cherokee","tag-chuck-hoskin","tag-coronavirus","tag-economic-development","tag-food","tag-oklahoma","tag-sovereignty","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31\/CherokeeNation-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-7Bf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}