Latest news with #CherokeeNation
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Delaware County woman suspected of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The mother of a baby suspected to have died from child abuse is herself the center of a separate child sexual abuse case, according to Cherokee Nation court records. Melissa Ann Foreman, 35, of Jay, is in the middle of a criminal case filed in Cherokee Nation Criminal Court. She was charged in October 2023 with felony counts of child sexual abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She is accused of giving a controlled dangerous substance to a 13-year-old boy and sexually abusing him, according to court records. Court records show she was scheduled to enter a plea to those charges in April, but now she is due back in court on June 24, where a judge will set a trial date. In an unrelated case, Foreman is the mother of Rachel Foreman, also known as Rachel Tymprance-Jane Simpson. The child was born the day after Foreman was charged with sex crimes. She died from blunt force trauma to the head on Oct. 19, 2024, at a Tulsa hospital. Foreman's former boyfriend Jordan Payne, 31, of Grove is charged with the baby's death. He is federally charged with second-degree murder and child neglect in Indian Country. The indictment also says Payne willfully and maliciously failed to provide medical care for the child. His federal jury trial is set for July 7, online records show. Information-10Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cherokee Nation opens new state-of-the-art Jay Head Start facility
JAY, Okla. — Cherokee Nation recently invested $6.5 million into the tribe's youngest citizens in Delaware County. The new state-of-the-art Jay Head Start Center was celebrated on May 22. The Cherokee Nation established its Head Start program in 1978, and has served more than 900 children. 'Not only does this program help kids, but I've also seen it help mothers who've reached for continuing education after seeing what these children need. The first Head Start in Jay was in an old American Legion building, so comparing that structure to this is unmeasurable.' District 10 Councilor Melvina Shotpouch The 9,300-square-foot facility includes office space, a conference room, two Head Start classrooms, a large outdoor playground, and an indoor gross motor room. The gross motor room serves as a shelter during inclement weather with a FEMA-rated tornado shelter. A rooftop garden is also featured in the project. 'Today, our Nation is celebrating a major investment into the future. The Council of the Cherokee Nation will always have the back of our children. We will continue to follow in the steps of our ancestors, who made major investments into education after removal.' Cherokee Nation Council Speaker Mike Shambaugh. 'Studies show that for every $1 invested in Head Start, we see as much as $9 in societal benefits,' said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. He said that an investment by the Cherokee Nation into early childhood education 'signals that our nation's best days are ahead of us, not behind us. ' The Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act provided funding for the Jay project. In 2024, Chief Hoskin reauthorized the Act with support from the Council of the Cherokee Nation. The legislation doubled the tribe's investment in Head Start construction from $40 million to $80 million to replace or rehabilitate all of the tribe's Head Start centers with new, state-of-the-art facilities. In November of 2024, the tribe celebrated its first project completion under the landmark legislation with the new Nowata Head Start building. Other Head Start facilities completed through the project will include Tahlequah, Stilwell (combining two facilities in the area), Salina, Pryor/MidAmerica Industrial Park, and Kenwood. The federal Head Start program was established in 1965 and is celebrating its 60th anniversary in May 2025. Head Start serves more than 40 million children and families across the U.S., and more than half of the Head Starts in the U.S. are located in rural communities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cherokee Nation provides food to children and elders
TAHLEQUAH — The Nowata Food Distribution and Senior Nutrition site celebrated its grand opening on Wednesday. The Cherokee Nation's Senior Nutrition Program provides seniors across the 14-county reservation with weekly meals and opportunities to fellowship with others. 'We opened our first original site here 13 years ago, and now, just 13 years later, we are serving 771 individuals, and I am just so pleased with that,' District 11 Councilor Kendra McGeady said. She said that food sovereignty and the ability to meet your nutritional needs matter in many ways. 'This serves as a hub for fellowship and community, and I think that all those things play into the health and wellness of our citizens,' McGeady said. Cherokee Nation's Nowata Food Distribution Program, which operates in the same facility as the Senior Nutrition Program, serves eligible families nutritious foods and operates in a grocery store environment that allows participants to shop in a comfortable and familiar setting. The Nowata Food Distribution facility serves over 400 homes and 8,400 people through in-person and home-delivered meals annually. The new upgrades and expansion of the facilities are an investment of $2.8 million from the Cherokee Nation. 'These improvements to the Nowata Food Distribution Store and Senior Nutrition Site have been a long time coming. It's an incredible feeling knowing that we need to expand, because that means that Cherokees are utilizing these facilities in this community and surrounding communities,' said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. The Nowata facility houses the tribe's senior nutrition site and food distribution store, which started operating in 2012. The new expansion to the building includes a 1,500-square-foot warehouse, a 400-square-foot conference room, a 500-square-foot dining expansion for the senior nutrition program, and a 1,500-square-foot freezer/cooler. Cherokee Nation is also helping the tribe's youngest citizens with its Summer EBT program, known as 'Sun Bucks. ' This program, offered through Cherokee Nation Public Health's Nutrition Programs, helps families buy nutritious foods during summer. Cherokee Nation expects to serve an estimated 50,000 children this summer, serving all eligible applicants, whether Cherokee or non-Cherokee citizens. Qualifying families will receive $120 in food benefits per child on one benefit issuance on an EBT card, which works like a debit card. Participation in this program will not impact other government assistance participants may receive. The deadline to apply is August 30. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OK, boomer: Why older Americans have the upper hand in the housing market
Brandi Ross has 'never even considered homeownership.' Ross, 33, is currently running for a Tribal Council seat with the Cherokee Nation, of which she is a citizen. As an At-Large candidate, she's campaigning to represent the thousands of tribal citizens who live outside the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in northeastern Oklahoma. Ross lives in Hawaii, where her fiancé is stationed with the army, but when he leaves the service later this year, the couple has a choice to make about where they'll live. Buying a home is probably not in the cards, Ross told USA TODAY. 'I've always just thought I'm going to be a renter until I die, and I think that's the mindset of a lot of millennials,' she said. 'We're just defeated, I guess.' It's not specifically the hurdle of scraping together a down payment that makes ownership feel so challenging, she said, but more that many people her age feel they live 'paycheck to paycheck' because the cost of living is so unaffordable. Buying a home has advantages and disadvantages, and may or may not be the right choice at any age or stage of life. But it's long been seen as the 'American Dream' – not to mention a dependable way to build wealth and obtain more economic stability than is typically available to renters. And for young people, achieving homeownership is often seen as a rite of passage, a step toward becoming an adult. But new data seems to suggest America is moving backward, not forward, in making that possible. In the 12 months ending in mid-2024, Baby Boomers made up the biggest share of home buyers, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released in April. At 42%, buyers aged 60-78 vastly outnumbered millennials, who accounted for 29% of those purchasing a home. What's more, the average age of first-time homebuyers hit an all-time high of 38 last year, even as the market share commanded by first-timers hit an all-time low of 24%. And roughly 95% of buyers younger than 44 used a mortgage for their purchase, while 40-50% of those older than 60 were able to use cash. Spend your money smarter: Sign up for USA TODAY's Daily Money newsletter. Read: Why is housing so expensive? There simply aren't enough homes. 'The U.S. housing market is split into two groups: first-time buyers struggling to enter the market and current homeowners buying with cash," said Jessica Lautz, NAR's deputy chief economist and vice president of research, in a report describing the findings. Molly Goodman is the co-founder of Abundant Housing Massachusetts, a housing advocacy organization. Goodman has dedicated much of her career to helping people into homeownership, including by conducting housing counseling trainings. The recent disparity between Boomers and millennials feels 'bleak,' she said.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CN CONFRONTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Housing security for Cherokee citizens remains one of the highest priorities for the Cherokee Nation and its leaders, and a recent study is helping the tribe map a plan for the future. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said a housing study for the region estimates a $1.75 billion housing deficit for Cherokee citizens in the region. Some of estimated measurements are based on existing programs with applicant demand that hasn't been met. Another part of the study revealed the housing market needs for low-income rental units. 'But all of it reinforces what everyone knows who lives in any community, including Tahlequah, that rents are very high,' Hoskin said. 'Rents are pushing people who are already economically at the margins further to the margins, and sometimes that means they have a financial collapse during a particular month.' Hoskin said housing troubles across the country are often due to the lack of quantity and quality of housing options. A deficit has built up over long periods of time, he said, and he feels no single government is responsible for the overall housing troubles the U.S. is facing. Housing has long been an important issue for Hoskin and Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner. Their first major act after taking office in 2019 was the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, which focused on addressing the issue through legislation investing $30 million mostly into housing rehab for elders and those with disabilities, Hoskin said. 'The second phase of the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act was $120 million,' Hoskin said. 'We are nearly done with that $120 million investment and that's the reason there is a new housing addition here in Tahlequah.' Twenty-four houses have been built in the new Galitsode subdivision near Cedar and Allen roads, and a recent grant for $500,000 will fund two more homes in that development. 'That housing addition is one of several we've built and that is primarily to address those who are on an existing waiting list for new home construction,' Hoskin said. Other Cherokee citizens who own land have applied for the same program, and these multimillion-dollar initiatives through the tribe are serving them as well, Hoskin said. The most recent expansion of the tribe's Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act injects at least $40 million into housing every three years into perpetuity. 'That's $40 million every three years in cycles, so after three years we will do another $40 million,' Hoskin said. 'And the idea is we can't possibly write a check tomorrow to create $1.75 billion worth of homes to fill the estimated deficit.' But over time, he said, the Nation can commit to using its revenue to supplement a paltry amount of federal Indian housing programs. 'The idea is we should be on a path where we can plan for housing and not be erratic in terms of a lot of dollars under this administration, fewer under that administration, but try to be consistent,' Hoskin said. Those that lead the Housing Authority need to plan, and when considering Tahlequah, the Cherokee Nation can see that not only is there a need for home ownership, but also a need for low-income rental units. 'That seems to be a bigger need in the community,' Hoskin said. Citizens can buy homes through a lease-to-own program, Cherokee Nation New Home Construction Program, which started under former Principal Chief Bill John Baker. 'People are moving into those homes for about $600 a month, and over 30 years, that payment will stay at $600,' Hoskin said. 'That includes insurance, and it includes taxes, because even though there are no property taxes there is an opportunity for the local school to get federal impact aid, so there is a backfill of dollars to the school based on the occupancy of that housing addition.' He said the policy was designed to encourage investment into low-income housing, which dates back over 60 years. After 30 years the homeowner will have a home with equity, but they will have paid far less than what that home would cost on the open market, Hoskin said. Though it is rent-to-own, the owner gets a subsidized path to owning the home, Hoskin said. 'It's cheaper than rent. They are buying it for much less to encourage homeownership,' Hoskin said. 'The idea is that investment is worth sort of our collective need to improve housing conditions. The thing that concerns me most is we need to shift a bit toward low-income rental units.' The Birdtail Addition in Tahlequah has also recently been updated, with the previous housing units being replaced with new homes, Hoskin said. 'We've also got 14 homes going into the Autumn Woods Addition near Grand View School,' Hoskin said. The Nation is finalizing an agreement with Tahlequah Habitat For Humanity, with the development of Autumn Woods where some properties are set aside for this organization. 'We are looking for partners and THFH seems to be a very logical partner for this sort of effort for low-income housing,' Hoskin said. 'Homes for Cherokee citizens means homes for Tahlequah citizens and any housing stock we add just adds to the mix.'
