As Principal Chief, he has increased minimum wage at Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses and secured the largest language investment in the tribe’s history to expand Cherokee language education and preservation. Chief Hoskin also appointed the tribe’s first delegate to the U.S. Congress, doubled Cherokee Nation’s funding for career tech education, and established the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act to repair hundreds of homes for Cherokees elders as well as public community buildings across the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction.
Additionally, as Secretary of State, Hoskin worked to secure funding from the federal government to fund a billion-dollar joint venture investment in better health care for all Cherokees. He has also served as Cherokee Nation’s strongest advocate on sovereignty protection.
He formerly served as a member of the Council of the Cherokee Nation, representing District 11 for six years, and served his final two years as Deputy Speaker. On the council, he worked with his fellow council members to start building homes for Cherokees again, increased education funding and sponsored legislation to expand health care service through casino dollars.
Chief Hoskin has testified at the United Nations on behalf of the Cherokee Nation and serves on multiple boards and commissions, including the United States Health and Human Services Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee.
Chief Hoskin is from the Vinita community, where he lives with his family. He and the First Lady, January, are parents to two children, Triston and Jasmine. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma College of Law and is a member of the Cherokee Nation and Oklahoma Bar Associations.
