Tribal Leader Roundtable

This crisis has brought our people together. We’re checking on our elders to ensure they stay home and are safe, and that those with underlying health conditions are not exposed. We’ve had people, even in the surrounding areas, make masks for us.

We’ve incurred financial losses in the millions of dollars; we’ve had to furlough and lay off hundreds of tribal government and business employees; we’ve had team members and customers who have lost loved ones; and we’ve been forced to conduct operations in a whole new way throughout our organization, etc.

One of our greatest assets are the people working for the tribe who continue to do the best that they can with limited resources. They always come through.

The health and safety of tribal members, our employees, casino and bingo guests and the greater community has been the singular focus of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cherokee Nation has remained steadfast in its efforts to prioritize the health and safety of its tribal citizens, team members and guests above all else. We’re working with our partners at the state and federal levels to help the communities within our reservation and build back the local economy.

We are working toward expanding our solar capabilities. Our initial goal is to ensure that the tribe is self-sustaining. Our next goal is to be able to produce energy for the grid.

We streamlined and fine-tuned many services such as A and B shifts, as well as drive-thru membership meetings, which allowed the membership to still conduct business while keeping everyone safe and allowing the tribe to move forward.

Spirit of Aquai is a philosophy that guides our tribe and our businesses. It is a spirit of welcoming, cooperation, and mutual respect.

Through courses with the Emergency Management Institute and other opportunities through FEMA, we’ve been able to lay down the groundwork to assist our members during the COVID-19 situation.

Fortunately, we have a very experienced team that were involved in the development of our four casinos as well as several expansion projects along the way. That experience coupled with the new experience gained in managing a construction project during the pandemic, will continue to inform our operations going forward.