Cite as: 32 CNCA § 1002

The Council of the Cherokee Nation finds that:

A. The property, buildings and archival holdings housed at the Cherokee Heritage Center are precious and irreplaceable resources for the Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee people, with such property described as:

East 230.0 feet of E/2 of NE/4 of NW/4, less and except the South 205.20 feet thereof, in Section 15, Township 16 North, Range 22 E.I.M, Cherokee County, State of Oklahoma, containing 6.00 acres, more or less,

and

S/2 of NW/4 of NE/4 and NE/4 of SW/4 of NE/4 and the S. 400.0 feet of SW/2 of NE/4 of NE/4 and W/2 of NW/4 of SE/4 of NE/4, and a tract of land described to wit: Beginning at a point of 200.0 feet E. of the NE corner of W/2 of SW/4 of SE/4 of NE/4: thence S. 200.0 feet; thence W. 1115.0 feet, to a point 200.0 feet S. and 75.0 feet E. of the NW corner of the SE/4 of SW/4 of NE/4; thence NW on a direct line to the NW comer of said SE/4 of SW/4 of NE/4; thence E. 1190.0 feet, more or less to the point of beginning; in Section 15, Township 16N, Range 22 I.B.&M., Cherokee County, State of Oklahoma, containing 44 acres, more or less.

B. A state of emergency exists concerning the safe storage of the Nation's archival records held at Cherokee Heritage Center due to insufficient storage facilities at Cherokee Heritage Center, requiring immediate action;

C. Since 1963, the Cherokee National Historical Society (CNHS) has served an indispensable role in the preservation and management of the Cherokee Heritage Center and its archival holdings, particularly during periods of time in which the Cherokee Nation lacked sufficient resources to perform such functions directly;

D. Legislative Act 15-85, making the Cherokee Heritage Center the repository of Cherokee Nation's archives, likewise served the critical objective of preserving and protecting Cherokee Nation's archives, particularly during periods of time in which the Cherokee Nation lacked sufficient resources to perform such functions directly; and

E. Cherokee Nation's growth, financial resources and expertise in historic preservation and museum management, warrants a transition towards its direct control and ownership of the Cherokee Heritage Center, all while preserving a vital role for a reconstituted Cherokee National Historical Society.

Historical Data

LA 20-20, eff. September 24, 2020.