- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Economic Development
Through a combination of business revenues and widespread employment, the Cherokee Nation contributes more than $3.1 billion annually to Oklahoma's economy.
That’s according to a report by Oklahoma City-based analytical firm Economic Impact Group, which identifies the Cherokee Nation as a major driver of the state’s economy. The report points to employment, production, and ongoing business activities as chief contributors.
Russell Evans, founding partner of the Economic Impact Group and a professor of economics at Oklahoma City University, said the impact was a “direct reflection of [Cherokee Nation’s] roots in northeastern Oklahoma.”
The report indicates the tribe supports over 23,000 jobs and generates $1.2 billion in wages and benefits annually. Additionally, it spends more than $536 million on goods and services from local vendors in northeast Oklahoma. The tribe awarded $17.5 million in scholarships in FY 2023, and supported 1,300 Native Americans with vocational training, per the report.
Statewide, Tulsa County experienced the largest economic impact from the tribe’s activities with $1.3 billion in output, 2,682 jobs, and $314.6 million in labor income. Cherokee County had the highest employment impact, with 12,015 jobs and $357.5 million in labor income, according to the report.
“Cherokee Nation’s economic impact is about more than dollars and data,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement. “It’s a reflection of our deep commitment to the prosperity of the Cherokee people and the communities we call home.”
The tribe made direct contributions to the state coffers as well. In FY 2023, the tribe paid $7.8 million in car tag revenues toward public schools in northeastern Oklahoma and $7.4 million into child development centers and assistance programs.
The Economic Impact Group found that Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB), the tribe’s economic arm, has funneled $500 million in compact fees to Oklahoma since 2005. CNB, operating across a range of federal contracting, agricultural, and entertainment businesses, has contributed more than $1.2 billion through cash dividends to tribal programs since 2015.
“CNB’s mission to broaden and strengthen Cherokee Nation’s economy as we invest, innovate, diversify and grow has always been at the core of everything we do, and it always will be,” Chuck Garrett, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses, said in a statement. “As our annual dividend to the tribe, gaming compact fees, investments and more continue to grow every year, it is an absolute honor to see our company’s efforts creating even more of an impact throughout our communities and across Cherokee Nation.”
This report is a continuation of a bi-annual effort to examine the economic relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the fourteen counties that comprise the Nation's reservation.
The study’s announcement follows major moves across the Cherokee Nation’s swathe of business ventures. In late March, federal contracting firm Cherokee Federal announced the development of a mobile landing platform for vertical takeoff and landing vehicles. Cherokee Nation Businesses also continues an ongoing fight for a new casino license in Pope County, Ark. that would mark the first commercial casino under the company’s banner.
A decision on that casino is expected in late April, per a 500Nations.com report.
