A Gathering of Our People

Governor Bill Anoatubby

Chokma!

Good morning everybody in attendance and those who are listening on KCNP radio or watching the livestream on the internet. To all of you, welcome to the 65th Annual Meeting of the great unconquered and unconquerable Chickasaw Nation!

You know, our first Annual Meeting was 65 years ago. Since then, Chickasaws have formally met to discuss our past, our present and work to determine what we can do for the future of our tribe. But Chickasaws have really been meeting longer than that.

We found an article about a meeting that was held in late July 1939. That meeting was three weeks after the passing of our beloved Governor Douglas Johnston. The people were coming together to identify someone to be the new Governor of the Chickasaw Nation and the meeting was at Seeley Chapel. The people met there, not only there but at our other churches, because we really didn’t have government buildings and we didn’t have the community centers like we have today.

Our people have always wanted to be engaged, wanted to be part of the selection of our leaders and wanted to have a government that would represent them. We honor the people of the Chickasaw Nation and their tradition, and we affirm our right to self-governance and self-determination. Being self-governing, we have rights and responsibilities.

We have a responsibility to promote our sovereignty: our land and property rights, jurisdiction, natural resources and the right to choose our own destiny. Of course, we have the right to do those things, but we have the responsibility to take care of our government and its people.

We must have a vision for the future. We have the responsibility to secure the resources necessary to make that vision a reality.

The Chickasaw Nation’s financial condition remains very strong. Those businesses that are now operated, along with many others we operate, are significantly important to our financial outlook.

The government revenues continue to grow. This last year, they totaled $3.7 billion. That’s a $200 million increase over the previous year. In 2025, our total net assets grew by $460 million and now exceed $7.5 billion.

In 1987, we had less than $500,000 in a federal trust fund. Now, we have $26.3 million. In 1987, we had 250 employees within the Chickasaw Nation. Now, we have 15,000.

Now, whatever we do, our goals are intended to serve the Chickasaw people through  generating the revenue needed to provide the services and run the Chickasaw government. We have an impact on those around us in so doing. The total economic impact on Oklahoma is more than $5.5 billion. Nationally, we support more than 35,000 jobs and our economic impact is $8.2 billion.

As you can see, the economy of the Chickasaw Nation is strong, and we are well positioned to bring our vision for the future into fruition.

And this is a vision that’s been decades in the making. For the past 50 years, it has been my greatest honor to serve the Chickasaw Nation. Thank you all very much for entrusting me with this incredible privilege.

The progress and continued growth we have seen has been made possible by the combined efforts of a dedicated team of employees and our partners. We have 15,000 employees that all have a goal. Their mission is to enhance the overall quality of life of the Chickasaw people. So, we have a shared commitment to meet that mission for the Chickasaw people.

And we have worked very diligently and hard to develop a culture within our workforce that encourages servant leadership and respect. And this also rewards selflessness and longevity and dedication to making a difference in the lives of those we serve.

It is a culture that values our employees and offers opportunities for growth and advancement for those who work hard to achieve their goals.

History has demonstrated that everyone benefits from cooperation and collaboration.

By continuing government to government relationships with local, tribal, state and federal partners and cultivating partnerships with agencies, institutions and many other organizations, we assure mutual growth and vitality for the Chickasaw Nation and the communities throughout Oklahoma.

We have had a federal government shutdown. But we want to reassure you that we are in a good position to withstand and overcome the challenges that this shutdown of the federal government has presented.

We’ve been through situations much like this before, so we have prepared for it, and we’ve made plans to get us through without interruption to our operations or programs and services.

Due to our firm commitment to financial stewardship, we have the reserves that are ready for times just like this.

One hundred seventy-five years ago, Chickasaw leaders secured the deed to our new land that was in Indian Territory. Our people organized and built a modern society in their new land and a government to work for the people.

Within the first Chickasaw council house in Tishomingo, they created and signed a constitution that served our people well for years.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the completed restoration of that same council house, a major step in the preservation of our history and one that continues to resonate in our preservation efforts even today.

By restoring the council house and opening it as a museum, we continue to tell the story of how we met great challenges and persevered to thrive in a new land.

That story continues to be told also at the Chickasaw Cultural Center where we recently celebrated 15 years of sharing our culture with visitors from around the world. We have had over 1 million visitors there.

For many generations, our people lived in Mississippi. We had several efforts to do something there to create a heritage center, and now we have something well underway. There has been great progress made on the Chickasaw Heritage Center in Tupelo, Mississippi.

The heritage center is planned to share the vibrant story of the Chickasaw people, from a Chickasaw perspective, in our historic Homeland, a place where Chickasaws inhabited and thrived for generations before Removal.

We look forward to sharing this story with thousands of visitors who will explore our unique Chickasaw culture and expand their understanding.

Language is very important, extremely important in fact. In May, a class of language learners in the Chikasha Academy Adult Immersion Program celebrated their graduation. Over the last three years, these adult language learners spent a significant amount of time immersed in the language, including thousands of hours of classes and self-study.

In addition to learning the language, they have also learned to teach it. In making these efforts, these students will help our language stay alive. They join generations of Chickasaws who have preserved our language and culture.

In addition to promoting our culture and language, we are also dedicated to offering opportunities in health, wellness and nutrition.  

The Chickasaw Department of Health had another successful year. The department had more than 1 million patient encounters, filled more than 1.5 million prescriptions, including about 600,000 filled by mail. We had nearly 1,000 babies born and had more than 36,000 pediatric patient visits.

This year, our department of health became the first health care system in Oklahoma to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Performance Award for Quality and Performance Excellence. This represented three decades of constant improvement in our health care system and the continuous dedication to reaching new heights of health care excellence.
Progress and design plans continue on the Newcastle Medical Center. We have reached an agreement with Indian Health Service to work together to build and staff what will be the largest and most comprehensive First American hospital in the United States.

This hospital will bring world-class care to Chickasaw and First American families within the Chickasaw Nation, the Oklahoma City metro area, as well as beyond those in Oklahoma. It will add to our already robust health system by housing a variety of new specialty services and offer opportunities to create our own research into illnesses and ailments that are specific to Chickasaws and other First Americans we serve.

The Newcastle Medical Center will be constructed in three phases, one of the first multi-phased joint venture projects with Indian Health Service.

We have long employed strategic planning and fiscal stewardship in our operations and economic development projects. This is to ensure long-term financial strength and continued growth. We are committed to the same strategic and thoughtful approach with the Newcastle Medical Center project.

We also continue to expand and improve our delivery of food and nutrition to children. When the need arose, we partnered with other tribes and agencies to meet the nutritional needs of Oklahoma children.

Through our partnership with Hunger Free Oklahoma, we expanded the Summer EBT program this year. This summer alone, we served approximately 100,000 children with nutritious food benefits for the months school is not in session, and that added more than $12 million into the local economy for food purchases.

This vital resource ensures children in our state have ample opportunities for nutritious meals regardless of tribal affiliation.

The Chickasaw Nation has made great strides in reducing the stigma around mental wellness. Our aim is to approach mental health in the same manner we do cardiovascular or dental health.

To that end, Chickasaw Nation mental health professionals saw more than 50,000 patient visits this last year. These visits include preventive care, suicide prevention, substance use recovery and integrated services within our health system and in-patient or residential services in three locations.

We have a variety of education services and support for Chickasaws of all ages, including child care assistance. We also have tutoring and digital learning assistance, and clothing assistance. Through these resources and support, we are working to assist citizens in reaching their goals and fulfilling their highest potential.

We recently began a new publication designed specifically for Chickasaw youth. Hayochi includes games, activities, puzzles and stories created to help young Chickasaws discover our culture, spark creativity and learn more about our tribe. In fact, Hayochi means “discover” in our Chickasaw language. The publication is mailed directly to Chickasaw children ages 6 through 12 and can also be downloaded online.

Each summer, we offer a variety of camps for youth to learn while having fun with their peers. More than 800 youth took part in these programs, learning about arts, science, outdoors, culture, life skills, sports and more.

These programs help build confidence, leadership and a sense of identity in our youth, ensuring they remain connected, build friendships and have the opportunity to excel. For instance, our robotics students won a spot at the Vex Robotics World Championships in Dallas, Texas, this year.

More than 800 students participated in workforce training and skill development as a part of the Toksali SMART program.

The recruitment and retention program has expanded to include nine college campuses. This program prepares, supports and empowers Chickasaw college students for success through cultural events, resources, mentors and guidance.

Students have access to community, academic support and a connection to resources available through both their campuses and the Chickasaw Nation. This program offers student centers at each campus providing space for students to meet with staff.

This year, the higher education and career technology programs awarded more than 5,000 Chickasaw students with more than $31 million in scholarships and other educational support.

The Chickasaw Institute of Technology continues to succeed in providing valuable career training. This year, the program graduated 71 students, the highest number of graduates since CIT was launched. We’ve already purchased a track of land to build on this program where we can have more students and graduates. Since 2017, the CIT program has seen 343 graduates with 81 employed with the Chickasaw Nation.

Last year, we were happy to announce an increase in our direct programs and services budget to support programs such as the assisted living program, down payment and closing cost assistance, and home improvement program, among others.

We also redesigned our storm shelter program. It’s now the homeowner preparedness program. We eliminated the wait list and served more than 4,800 Chickasaws.

An additional program that launched this year was the elders clothing program. This program provides Chickasaw elders with $250 toward the purchase of clothing items and served more than 9,400 elders this year.

Our elders get together annually. We have an elders conference, and it continues to connect citizens with resources that are available. Nearly 500 elders gathered at this year’s conference.

This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Chickasaw Warrior Society. It was suggested that by creating an organization of Chickasaw veterans, it would foster the relationships of its members who would share a common bond through their military experience. Currently, the Warrior Society has more than 1,800 members from around the country.  

This year, 261 attendees joined us for the veterans conference, where we honor them for their service and sacrifice.

In addition to honoring our military veterans, we also continue to respect our law enforcement and judicial departments as they continue to promote law and order within our jurisdictional territory.  We support them by expanding our public safety and court systems, both in terms of personnel and resources.

The Chickasaw Nation’s reservation was affirmed by a court ruling almost five years ago. We are proud of the work being done to keep Chickasaws and the communities within the Chickasaw Nation safer.

The Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department now has three precincts and has grown to include 162 full-time law enforcement officers serving the entire Chickasaw Nation. Now the department has four divisions and specialized teams, including SWAT, a dive team and a K-9 team.

In stepping up to meet our expanded law enforcement responsibilities, we have tripled funding for Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse and the Office of Tribal Justice Administration so we can build a justice system appropriate to our responsibilities and duties.

We expanded our cross-jurisdictional agreements so that, today, nearly 1,600 sworn officers can enforce Chickasaw Nation law throughout our reservation. And likewise, we are able to enforce Oklahoma law in certain circumstances.

We formed new agreements with district attorneys to jointly employ prosecutors who can work in both state and Chickasaw courts, thus greatly enhancing our law enforcement partnerships and effectiveness.

And we’ve begun work on a new judicial center in Ardmore. It will provide a more easily accessible court for those who live in the southern half of the Chickasaw Nation.

Our team plays a critical role in law enforcement throughout our reservation. And because of our investments and the work we do as a sovereign government, there are now more resources going to law enforcement and public safety in the Chickasaw Nation than ever before.

The Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse now fields more than 36,000 calls for service each and every year. The Office of Tribal Justice Administration and Judicial Department handled nearly 3,000 prosecutions for this year. Those numbers mark dramatic increases from what we were doing only five years ago.

We are proud of the work that our team does to support the public’s safety and well-being throughout the Chickasaw Nation.

Chickasaw Nation Emergency Management maintains partnerships with FEMA, the United States Corps of Engineers, state agencies and municipal first responders. These, and other public safety partnerships, serve to better protect everyone in communities across Oklahoma.

Our Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team plays a crucial role in disaster tracking, providing GIS data to first responders and partners. We also use this data to aid affected citizens and coordinated outreach and recovery when needed.

We do our best work when we endeavor to work together. We will continue to engage in that spirit while working in the interest of the Chickasaw people.

Across the United States, near and far, Chickasaws are coming together for fellowship and community.

This year, we expanded Chickasaw Citizen Connection groups to include North Carolina, South Carolina, Central California, Tennessee and West Texas. There are now a total of 43 citizen groups serving 41 states. These groups meet to receive news and updates from the Chickasaw Nation and to hear from representatives of the tribe about programs, culture, resources and to meet other Chickasaws.

Next summer, we will host our first Youth Leadership Chickasaw, which is a conference for incoming high school seniors. The goals are to build leaderships skills and to inspire the next generation of Chickasaw leaders.

As Chickasaws, we possess a history and culture of strong leadership that we intend to foster both to enhance the lives of our youth and to ensure sovereignty and the progress of our people in perpetuity.

You’ve heard a lot about things that are happening within the Chickasaw Nation.

These efforts are all part of an ongoing story of sovereignty and self-determination, of generational vision.

As we move forward, realize that we are all part of a living nation, one that grows stronger through action and the exercise of our sovereignty and our responsibilities.

This is what it means to be a tribe, a nation, a people connected by family, by culture and through our collective past and future.

This is what it means to be Chickasaw.

We are well positioned to continue to protect and preserve our sovereignty, our culture, our traditions and our nation for many, many generations to come.

I am honored to report to you today that the state of the Chickasaw Nation is remarkably strong, and the best is yet to come.

Yakoke.