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Cherokee Nation receives federal grant to boost EV charging network

EV charging stations currently exist throughout the tribe’s reservation including Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Cherokee Casino Tahlequah, Ann Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center in Vinita and Cherokee Nation’s W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex government office.
Cherokee Nation
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Cherokee Nation
EV charging stations currently exist throughout the tribe’s reservation including Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Cherokee Casino Tahlequah, Ann Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center in Vinita and Cherokee Nation’s W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex government office.

The Cherokee Nation has received a $10.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to install electric vehicle chargers across its reservation.

The money is part of President Biden’s initiative to increase the spread of EV stations across the U.S., along with his Justice 40 initiative to assist disadvantaged communities through clean energy federal investments.

The money will be used to install 112 electronic vehicle chargers in 12 separate locations across the Cherokee Nation reservation. Proposed sites include Ochelata, Jay, South Coffeyville, Nowata, Tahlequah, Stilwell, Grove, Salina, Vinita and Tulsa.

The chargers will join the tribe’s pool of already established stations within the tribe to ensure that every part of the land is within 25 miles of charging infrastructure.

According to Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., the ultimate goal is to reduce emissions from the reservation.

“Our goal at the Cherokee Nation is to reduce our carbon footprint by 25 percent by 2027, and we continue to make these strides,” he said in a press release. “This latest federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will help us continue to add even more electric vehicle charging stations across the Cherokee Nation Reservation as more consumers purchase electric vehicles and need places to charge.”

The tribe is the only recipient of the funds from Oklahoma, and has plans to contract Tulsa company Francis Energy to execute the project.

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Katie Hallum (ᏧᏟ) covers Indigenous Affairs at KOSU.
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