Copyright © 2006 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved
News from the Cherokee Nation, OK
Copyright © 2006 CNO
TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA – Through its Community Work Project program, the Cherokee Nation recently invested matching funds in the Coo-Y-Yah Baptist Church, located in Mayes County between Salina and Pryor, to facilitate a complete remodeling effort. The $6,000 investment represents the first installment in a total investment of $35,000 from the Cherokee Nation, which church officials will match with $35,485 of their own contributions, primarily in the form of community labor.Initial monies will fund work for Phase One, which includes demolition of the church’s interior so renovation can begin.
“These projects let communities prioritize what they need and work together to make it happen,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “We’re proud of the work our citizens are doing for their own community and are happy the Cherokee Nation can contribute to the good things that are already going on here.”
“We are very appreciative of Cherokee Nation and everything they’ve done for us. We also appreciate their love for the Indian people of this area,” said Charles Kingfisher, pastor of Coo-Y-Yah Baptist Church, whose congregation is composed primarily of Cherokee Nation citizens.
The church, housed in a building originally built as a schoolhouse in the 1930s, features interior construction not conducive to church services or community activities. To remedy this and to make the church a more people-friendly place, later phases of the remodeling project call for the whole structure to be reroofed, interior walls removed and central heating and air-conditioning added. New bathrooms, a new sound system for church services and new carpeting will be installed. Exterior walls will also be rebricked and resided.
“The fact that we’ll have a nicer, more modern building that will look like a church and not an old schoolhouse has excited people, and they stop by all the time to comment on how nice the building looks already,” said Kingfisher. “They’ve even offered to help in any way they can.”
Last year the Cherokee Nation provided funds that were matched with community labor to assist Coo-Y-Yah Baptist members in building a new fellowship hall.
The purpose of Community Work Projects is to develop stronger Cherokee communities by providing small amounts of matching funding to assist communities and community-based organizations within the Cherokee Nation’s 14-county tribal jurisdiction to organize around issues and projects that have broad community support. Projects must have a self-help focus and must be aimed in a broad sense at improving the community’s ability to be self-reliant.
In 2005, Cherokee Nation invested a total of $486,192.54 in 28 community organizations for improvement projects within the communities.
For more information about the Cherokee Nation Community Work Project program, contact Denise Honawa, Community Services administrative officer, phone: 918-453-5248 or send e-mail to: dhonawa@cherokee.org.
| Related Cherokee Nation contact information: |
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Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org
Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager |
Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org
Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation |