A groundbreaking for a community center at Sequoyah Heights, consisting of 14 elder rental units, was promoted as fulfilling the needs cherished by Cherokee people: culture and preservation of language. Sequoyah Heights was built in 2019, and on July 9, dignitaries from the Cherokee Nation, city, state and county elected officials and supporting tribal departments, gathered for the groundbreaking. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
said community centers are important because the mission of the Cherokee Nation is to build the nation from the grassroots up. Part of how that is done is with housing and community buildings, Hoskin said. "[Community buildings] are the hubs of a lot of communities that give kids a place to feel safe and seen, and gives elders a place to be cared for, and everybody in between, and it all starts to revitalize what it means to be Cherokee – our culture and language," Hoskin said.
It can't happen without these kinds of investments, and this is why these projects are so important, Hoskin said. "This building is and should be useful for that purpose, and we have plenty of staff and programs to fill it with opportunities for these folks," Hoskin said. The National American Indian Housing Council received news recently that House Republicans proposed increases to the Indian Housing Block Grant program.
It would increase the amount received by 9%, states a June 27 press release from the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.
CN Executive Director of Housing .
