TAHLEQUAH, Okla — The Cherokee Nation announced it would sign a first-of-its-kind agreement with the National Park Services (NPS).
On Wednesday, April 20, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner will sign an agreement with NPS to allow Cherokee citizens to gather culturally significant plants within the Buffalo National River Park in Arkansas for traditional use.
The agreement says the Cherokee Nation will establish a process for Cherokee Nation citizens to gather 76 culturally significant plants in some regions of Buffalo National Park, including the Lost Valley, Tyler Bend, Buffalo Point and Rush areas.
This is not only the first agreement between the Cherokee Nation and the National Park Service Buffalo National River but also the first of its kind in the region between a tribe and NPS.
During the event, Chief Hoskin will also sign an executive order dedicating nearly 1,000 acres of land inside the Cherokee Nation Reservation as the Cherokee Nation Medicine Keepers Preserve.
The Cherokee Nation Medicine Keepers Preserve property in Adair County is among the most botanically diverse tribal lands within the Cherokee Nation Reservation.
The NPS, Medicine Keepers and other Cherokee Nation officials will also be at the two signing events.
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