Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker speaks during a press conference Tuesday announcing the Cherokee Nation's $1.33 billion impact in Oklahoma. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
CATOOSA — The Cherokee Nation’s $1.3 billion impact on Oklahoma is special because of how the tribe’s influence is widely spread throughout its 14-county jurisdiction in northeastern Oklahoma, according to an economist who presented his study to state officials Tuesday.
Russell Evans, executive director of the Steven C. Agee Economic Research and Policy Institute at Oklahoma City University, said that if all tribes were combined into one “Native American industry,” they would be the sixth- or seventh-biggest industry in Oklahoma’s economy.
“It’s the distribution of economic impact in the areas that need it,” Evans said, citing hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact the Cherokee Nation helps pour into communities in Adair, Delaware and Washington counties.
Evans, whose organization prepared the report, spoke along with state and tribal officials at the tribe’s release of the new economic impact study, which provides a look at how the Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses provide jobs and, through their purchases and investments, help other organizations grow.
Mike Bouvier, Washington County District 2 commissioner, said his community has benefited from the Cherokee Nation’s growth in the area.
“They’re here to stay,” Bouvier said. “And that’s so important. … Anytime we need to talk to the Cherokees, they are right there.”
Bouvier said one major benefit in his area is a new health-care center in Ramona that will mean more jobs for construction and additional funding for roads and bridges around the facility.
The Cherokee Nation’s total economic impact on Oklahoma grew since 2010 by about 25 percent, bringing it to $1.3 billion during 2012.
The total economic impact is derived from looking at jobs directly contributed by the tribe, vendor purchases, vendor growth and spending as a result of those jobs in the Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses, the tribe’s business arm.
“$1.3 billion. Think about what that effect has on you, your friends and neighbors,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker said. “We are truly the engine that drives economic growth in northeast Oklahoma.”
The tribe’s report was released during a luncheon for state and tribal dignitaries at the tribe’s flagship casino, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.
Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb said the Cherokee Nation’s partnership with Oklahoma is important to the future growth of the state.
“Thank you, Chief Baker, for your leadership,” he said. “Thank you, Cherokee Nation, for your impact.”
Since the tribe’s last economic impact report, employment grew by 676 jobs, with about $158 million in additional income, according to the report.
The tribe directly employs more than 9,000 people, with a total of 14,188 jobs directly or indirectly created as a result of the Cherokee economy.
“The Cherokee Nation is a proud partner to the state of Oklahoma and thousands of city and county governments,” Baker said. “Oklahoma is our home, and we have a vested interest.”
Baker attributed the tribe’s growth to a diversified Cherokee Nation Businesses portfolio that, in addition to gaming and entertainment, is involved in manufacturing, health care, information technology and several other fields.
The Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses combined to have the highest economic impact in Tulsa County as compared with the other counties in the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction, according to the report.
In Tulsa County, the Cherokee Nation contributes to 2,446 jobs for an income of $97 million.
Applying economic-impact multipliers, the tribe boasts a total impact in Tulsa County of more than $355 million, according to the report.
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