STILWELL — Several Cherokee Nation administrative officials and a crowd of about 40 were on hand Jan. 28 for the ribbon-cutting ceremony that marked the opening of the CN senior nutrition and activity center in Stilwell.
The site was chosen after a 2023 study – available online at cherokee.org – identified a marked need in Adair County and around Stilwell in particular. The assessment suggested approximately 1,000 Cherokee elders who were eligible for CN Senior Nutrition lived in the Stilwell area.
“We want to support the connections here so that they can carry them out into the community,” Human Services Executive Director Jennifer Kirby said. “We all want to belong and have a purpose, and for our elders, Cherokee Nation continues with its initiatives like providing these safe places for elders to gather. We welcome you, elders, to share your ideas with us.”
The Stilwell site will serve as a dining area and social gathering space for Cherokee elders in the Senior Nutrition program. The facility is 6,000 square feet. Senior Nutrition can also deliver meals to those for whom leaving their homes is difficult.
“We are bringing something to elders where they can break bread, laugh and just have fun, and that is the importance I want to signify today,” District 7 Tribal Councilor Joshua Sam said. “I want to give a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Chief (Chuck) Hoskin (Jr.), Deputy (Chief Bryan) Warner and the administration, the Council and the Human Services department for the work going into this building.”
The Stilwell Senior Nutrition facility, located at 7 W. Division St., has space to allow food storage for other CN elder nutrition sites. It also has room to train food preparers and offers ample kitchen, dining and prep areas.
To start, the Stilwell site will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., with lunch offered from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Hours and days may be adjusted to meet demand.
“This place right here is not just going to serve Stilwell people, but a lot of people in Adair County,” District 8 Tribal Councilor Codey Poindexter said. “A lot of people in Adair County come here. We were asking (Kirby) if we could come eat, and she said, ‘Yeah, just come volunteer.’ That’s something that we’re excited about. It’s going to open up volunteer opportunities for kids who want to serve their elders.”
Hoskin told the gathering that the CN continues to regard its elders as a high priority and treat them with respect and compassion.
“We say we ought to take care of our elders,” Hoskin said. “We say that we have a collective responsibility to lift up our elders in view of everything they’ve done, and to lift us up and our communities up. The difference between the Cherokee Nation and some governments in this country is that we do more than say it. It’s not just a slogan. It’s not a bumper sticker. It’s not just a hashtag that we find convenient to try out on social media. We really do something about it.”
The CN operates 14 other senior nutrition sites across the reservation. They include the senior centers in Porum, Marble City, Kenwood, Oaks, Spavinaw and Greasy; the Nowata Center and the Foyil Nutrition Center; Caney-Tailholt in Welling; the Belfonte Community Center in Muldrow; Wisdom Keepers in Tahlequah; the Tsa-La-Gi Senior Center in Sallisaw; the Drycreek Community Center in Bunch; and the Evening Shade Community Center in Vian.
“This will be a welcoming environment that will allow the program to host visitors to share helpful information with elders and will have additional space for activities that will add to the quality of life for these elders,” Kirby said. “While the main focus is to provide elders with meals, this also gives elders a chance to be engaged with their peers and provides a safe place for them to spend time during the week.”
Elders wishing to participate in the CN Senior Nutrition program must be at least age 50 and a citizen of a federally recognized Native American tribe. For more information call 918-453-5241.