Chuck Hoskin Jr.

Chuck Hoskin Jr. is the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, one of the largest tribal nations in the United States. He was elected on June 1, 2019, having received 57 percent of the vote.^[3]

Hoskin previously served as the Cherokee Nation's Secretary of State after he was appointed to the cabinet position by former Principal Chief Bill John Baker and unanimously confirmed by the Council of the Cherokee Nation in 2013 ^[4] and reconfirmed unanimously in March 2016.

As Secretary of State, Hoskin worked with Baker and Deputy Chief S. Joe Crittenden to secure funding from the federal government to fund a billion-dollar joint venture investment in better health care for all Cherokees.^[5] He also served as an advocate on sovereignty protection, investments in education, increasing minimum wage, expanded maternity leave, the creation of family leave for employees who foster Cherokee children, and preservation of Cherokee language and culture.

He formerly served as a member of the Council of the Cherokee Nation, representing District 11 for six years and served his final two years as Deputy Speaker. On the council, he worked with his fellow council members and the Baker administration to start building homes for Cherokees again, which had not been done in more than a decade, increased education funding and sponsored legislation to expand health care service through casino dollars.^[6]

Hoskin has testified at the United Nations on behalf of the Cherokee Nation and serves on multiple boards and commissions including the United States Health and Human Services Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee.

He was sworn in as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation during a ceremony held in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, on Wednesday, August 14, 2019, alongside newly elected Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner.^[7]

Accomplishments[]

On August 22, 2019, Hoskin announced his plan to nominate Cherokee Nation Vice President of Government Relations Kim Teehee as the first Cherokee Nation delegate to Congress. Hoskins said the Cherokee Nation delegate is referenced in both the Treaty of Hopewell from 1785 and Treaty of New Echota from 1835 between the Cherokee Nation and federal government. The Treaty of 1866 also reaffirms all previous treaties between the Cherokee Nation and United States, Hoskin states.^[8]

Before taking his oath of office, he announced his intent to invest $30 million into repairing homes for Cherokees who have previously been on a waiting list under the tribe's housing rehabilitation program.^[9]

Hoskin met with more than 100 employees of the Cherokee Nation on August 7, a week before his inauguration, and surprised them by revealing plans to raise the tribe's minimum wage for government employees to $11 per hour, up from the previous minimum wage of $9.50 per hour.^[10] He later encouraged the board of directors of the business arm of the tribe, Cherokee Nation Businesses, to follow the government's lead and to also raise its minimum wage.^[11]

Hoskin and Warner also proposed the creation of the Cherokee Nation's first Secretary of Veterans Affairs, which, upon approval, will be a cabinet-level position. Hoskin has nominated former Deputy Principal Chief S. Joe Crittenden, a Vietnam-era Navy veteran, to hold this position.^[12]

Personal[]

Hoskin is a graduate of Vinita High School, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He is a member of the Cherokee Nation and Oklahoma Bar Associations. Hoskin resides in his hometown of Vinita, Oklahoma, with his wife, January. They have two children.^[13]

References[]