Cherokee Nation Reelects Principal, Deputy Chief For 2nd Term

Cherokee Nation voters have reelected their Principal Chief and Deputy Chief for a second term.

This will be the last term for Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner.

Both Hoskin, Jr. and Warner won their races with more than 60 percent of the Cherokee vote.

Hoskin, Jr., said he's excited to get back to work.

"Well, I'm very pleased, the Deputy Chief and I are very pleased, that hard work paid off, and it was hard work of a lot of people during the campaign but also the last four years," said Hoskin, Jr.

He said one of his main focuses for the next four years is putting more money into healthcare.

"We got to continue a lot of the projects that we've already worked on, healthcare, I think chief among them,” said Hoskin, Jr. “We've got a hospital that we are in the midst of building, in the early stages, a health center in Salina, we've got a really important effort to build drug treatment centers. That's really early on, but we've got a 5-year plan to do that."

Along with healthcare, Hoskin Jr., said it's one of his goals to maintain tribal sovereignty and help Cherokee citizens with the projects they want to see in their communities.

"You can go to different parts of the Cherokee nation and communities that haven't seen a lot of investment for a while that's seeing it now," said Hoskin, Jr.

Hoskin said he wants to represent all Cherokees, regardless of who they voted for.

"Any time you have an election, there can be some division,” said Hoskin, Jr. “I think the goal for all of us, is to come out as unified as possible. The deputy chief and I believe that yes, we did get a large share of the vote, I think we've got a mandate, but we represent every Cherokee, whether they voted for us or not, we have to be mindful of that, they have hopes and concerns."

He is thankful for all the Cherokee citizens who took time out to vote for him and the Deputy Chief.

"Well, the deputy chief and I appreciate the support,” said Hoskin, Jr. “It was, I think, a victory that showed that the Cherokee nation is behind us, and we're trying to always be worthy of that."

The inauguration for Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner will be in August.