Cherokee Nation celebrates grand opening of new Loyal Shawnee community building in White Oak

WHITE OAK, Okla. - The Cherokee Nation on Sept. 19 celebrated the grand opening of a new Community and Cultural Outreach community building in White Oak near Vinita.

The Loyal Shawnee Cultural Center was a Cherokee Nation investment of more than $2 million. Board members of the CCO organization and leaders from the Shawnee tribe attended the event to celebrate the new facility.

"Today is about history and friendship," said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. "You can go back centuries in terms of the relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the Shawnee Nation. Our relationship for the last century and a half has been very special and important in this part of the world. Events and other sovereigns brought us together, but we made a decision to be friends, and that friendship is not frozen in time in the 19th century. It continues on, and that's why this is such an important day for me. It's about nurturing and renewing friendships. This building will be an important hub of fellowship, culture, traditions and so much more for our Cherokee and Shawnee brothers and sisters."

The former community center served both the Shawnee and Cherokee people for generations. Built under Chief Wilma Mankiller's administration, the former facility opened in 1991. In recent years, the building began to show its age and flooded regularly due to its location.

"The livelihood and friendship in this community between these two tribes was never dependent on how good their community center is. But we believe that the community here deserves a space that reflects the harmony that is here, and I think this building does just that," said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner.

The newly opened community center is 4,000 square feet with a 1,200-square-foot pavilion for outdoor gatherings.

"We need a place where the Cherokee and Shawnee people can continue to come together and break bread and celebrate life, culture, history, and tradition together," said Cherokee Nation Councilor Kendra McGeady, of District 11. "We are very pleased to have committed dollars to this facility. If you look around, you can see that it was a very smart investment on our part."

The indoor community room is 2,700 square feet and comes with a full commercial kitchen, restrooms, a storage room, an office, heat and air conditioning, and a standby backup generator.

"The Loyal Shawnee Cultural Center is a community organization that has been working with Cherokee Nation CCO for many years. They provide a great example of promoting cultural activities with their Green Corn Festival, their Fall Bread Dance, their Spring Bread Dance, keeping up the stomp grounds and doing their stomp dances," said Savannah Smith, executive director of Cherokee Nation Community and Cultural Outreach. "I'm happy to be a part of this new chapter."

During Friday's grand opening, members of the community also fellowshipped over a meal and discussed plans for future activities in the building.

"I am just so elated and grateful that this is happening and grateful to the Cherokee Nation," said Sherry Gardner, who helps oversee activities for the Loyal Shawnee Cultural Center. "Chief Hoskin called me June 9, 2021 and asked me if we wanted a new building, and I was so emotional. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. This is an important space to us. In this building, we skin our corn, dry it, and grind it into flour so that we are able to make our bread on our ceremonial days, and we do all of that here. It really is a special place for us to gather together and honor our traditions."

In recent years under the Hoskin-Warner administration, the Cherokee Nation has built, replaced or rehabilitated approximately 20 community centers for CCO-participating community organizations. The projects stem from a variety of funding sources, including dollars set aside from Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner's historic Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, and the Public Health and Wellness Fund Act.