Editor’s note: The following is a transcript of Principal Chief David Hill’s 2026 State of the Nation address on Saturday, July 25, delivered at the Quarterly Session of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation National Council.
Second Chief Beaver, Speaker Hicks, representatives of the National Council, honorable tribal Judges, church and ceremonial leaders, dignitaries and friends, and most especially, fellow Muscogee Creek citizens.
Today, I stand before you with gratitude, humility, and a deep sense of responsibility. This is my second-to-last State of the Nation Address that I will deliver as Principal Chief, so I can’t help but reflect on all we have done in this administration, while thinking of the time we have left to do all we can to finish what we started.
From Day One, we have committed to leave a legacy of progress and prosperity for our Nation. I’m proud that we’ve been able to keep so many of the promises we made. We wanted to be the administration that didn’t just have a vision, but one that turned our Nation’s wildest dreams into reality.
I’m honored and pleased to say that in many ways, we have accomplished this goal.
If you visited the Muscogee Reservation 5-10 years ago, you wouldn’t recognize it today. We are Changing The Landscape…and because of that, it is my great privilege to inform you this morning that the State of our Nation is as strong as it’s ever been, and getting stronger every day!
At the Muscogee Nation, we believe in the power of prayer, of a spiritual help in the time of need. However, or to whomever you pray, we feel it’s important to call on a higher power to help guide us as leaders in our public service decisions. Second Chief and I and the Cabinet, we all feel the support and prayers from the citizens, thank you for that, and keep them coming!
Leading this Nation is not without challenges. Sometimes, we disagree. Sometimes we fail in our objectives, and we realize that while perfection is a noble goal, it is an impossibility. But it’s also important to remember that our differences are not as important as what unites us and what we have in common. We are all MUSCOGEE, and we are FAMILY.
To our National Council, I want to thank you again for the opportunity and the platform to give this address. Together, I am proud of the many accomplishments and wonderful achievements that we have produced for this Nation in our time working together. Thank you for your leadership and public service.
Together, we have ushered in the greatest era of growth in the modern history of the Muscogee Creek Nation!
Before we look ahead, I wanted to re-visit some of our brightest moments from the past year and recognize the work of so many.
We cannot be a prosperous Nation and have a future, if we’re not prioritizing the Health of our people. At Muscogee Nation Health, we continue to stake our claim as the best tribal health system in the country.
Last year, I talked about how we made a greater commitment to patient experience and service. Reducing wait times at clinics, offering new treatments at our facilities, and celebrating the amazing expansion of our emergency services. This year it’s all about growth.
The National Council approved a $185 million financing package to support the construction of two transformational health facilities — a new comprehensive clinic in Holdenville and an expanded replacement clinic in Sapulpa. This investment underscores the Nation’s long-term commitment to accessible, high-quality, and culturally competent healthcare. Our people deserve the very best healthcare we can provide — in settings that reflect our values and meet their needs. The Holdenville campus will span more than 67,000 square feet across 40 acres, designed not only as a healthcare facility but as a collective hub for prevention, wellness, and community health. The clinic will offer a full range of services—including primary care, dental, and optometry—while integrating outdoor wellness spaces that encourage long-term healthy living. In Sapulpa, the current clinic will be replaced with a two-story, 148,000-square-foot facility, more than ten times the size of the existing center. This modern clinic will bring a host of services under one roof, including primary care, pediatrics, women’s health, pharmacy, dental, optometry, and a range of specialty clinics. The Sapulpa facility is also designed to foster collaboration among healthcare professionals, strengthening care coordination, improving patient outcomes, and enhancing the overall patient experience. The financing package — led by BOK Financial — represents one of the largest health-related investments in the Nation’s history. BOK Financial will lead the syndication process, incorporating a network of local lending institutions to ensure the economic benefits of the project extend throughout the region. Together, these projects mark a new chapter in the Nation’s healthcare journey — one that blends cutting-edge medical services with cultural, community-centered design to serve future generations of Muscogee citizens.
We have made a greater commitment to mental health and have opened the new Muscogee Nation Healing and Recovery Center that will allow us to better serve the needs of citizens at the root of their issues, with rehabilitation. We believe in restoration and not just restitution. This center sits on 27 acres, with 34 thousand square feet of residential and treatment space. Residents will participate in individual and group therapy, and have access to things like exercise equipment, gardening spaces, Muscogee artwork, and a pond for fishing. The center represents a nearly $27 million dollar investment from the Nation and will offer a generational shift in our care system.
Perhaps what I’m most proud of is our latest project in Health, which is something that citizens have expressed interest in for years and years: an assisted living facility for our elders. Well, we are finally delivering. We are in contractual agreement and are now in design phase for the Nation’s first facility of this kind.
On top of that, our Health system continues to stand alone as fiscally self-sufficient, returning gaming distributions back to the Nation for over 5 years now.
If you work for our Health system and are here today, mvto for your dedication and advancing the health outcomes for our people. Please stand and be recognized.
Our capital city of Okmulgee is looking a little different these days!
We are putting the finishing touches on a plan that has been discussed for years, with the completion of our 4 story $88 million dollar Citizens Services Building. Not only will this structure serve as a new tribal headquarters, but will meet our need to consolidate our programs into a more accessible site visit for citizens who need services.
We are just months away from the opening of our new Muscogee Nation Justice Headquarters and Court Facility. The building will be over 52,000 sq. ft and will house both the Muscogee (Creek) District Court and Supreme Court. This larger space and upgraded infrastructure will create a more adequate and streamlined process that will help support the needs of our judicial system as we continue meeting the demands of our expanded jurisdictional responsibilities.
Driving into Okmulgee off 75 Highway, I hope you’ve noticed the rapid construction of our new Welcome and Heritage Center. This center will serve as a gateway for visitors traveling along Highway 75, giving them an opportunity to learn about who we are, our Mvskoke culture, our art, and the history of our capital city, Okmulgee. Our story reaches back long before statehood, and through this center, we will be able to share that story in a powerful way with all who visit. The Welcome Center will also be more than a stop along the way, it will be a place of learning. Classrooms here will nurture knowledge, creativity, and the next generation of artists and storytellers who will help carry our traditions forward.
One of the most meaningful features of this center will be the collection space. I think back to 2013, when Pete Beaver and I helped the Cultural Center and Archives staff unload the Council House collection at a storage facility in Jenks. They had just driven through the night from Ohio after rescuing the collection from being sold at auction. For years, that collection has been safely cared for, waiting for a permanent home. We are one step closer to providing that home. Soon, citizens will be able to reconnect with the items in that collection and have access to the history they hold. This center will ensure that our heritage is not only protected, but celebrated.
Economically, we’re thriving. Currently, our permanent fund sits at $723 Million 831,494 dollars, an increase of over $60 million from the last quarter. We opened two new gaming facilities with hotels this year in Koweta and Eufaula, with both reporting some of our top-performing distributions since their opening.
In January, the Muscogee Nation and Muscogee Nation Gaming Enterprises announced the launch of a Class II mobile gaming application, allowing eligible players to participate in electronic bingo-style games from any location within the boundaries of the Muscogee Nation Reservation. This mobile Class II gaming app marks a new era of access, innovation and technology for the Nation and sets a precedent for mobile gaming across Indian Country. It represents a major step forward for the Muscogee Nation. We are investing in technology that strengthens sovereignty and expands opportunity for our citizens. Leading the nation with the first reservation-wide Class II mobile gaming platform reflects our commitment to innovation and responsible governance.
In Commerce, we have dedicated analysts working on devising and identifying economic revenue streams through business development projects that the Nation has outsourced and spent capital on in the past. By taking these projects on and developing them, we can offer services that will generate revenue while also giving us more autonomy over tribal monies.
We realize that there are many opportunities for us here in Indian Country. But we also cannot prioritize development and business projects at the expense of our most precious resources; our air, land and water.
We have heard your concerns over the development of Data Centers and AI.
So, we have passed a bill establishing a Tribal Digital Infrastructure and Data Sovereignty Task Force. This will provide for coordinated development of Tribal digital infrastructure initiatives on the reservation. According to the legislation, the task force will include one representative from the Attorney General’s office, one representative from the National Council, the principal chief, the chairman of the BFJ committee, the Speaker of the National Council, and one representative from the Tribal Utility Authority. It’s time that we remove misinformation and add transparency to this debate and really study what the advantages and concerns are for these projects, and the best way to move forward.
Our culture and humanities department continues to advance some of our most important initiatives in language, protecting what’s sacred and what makes us Muscogee.
We traveled to Scotland this year and, together with the University of Edinburgh, completed the first international repatriation in our history. Remains from 6 Muscogee and Yuchi ancestors were returned home and buried in our homelands. We are eternally grateful to the University of Edinburgh and our friends in the Anatomy Department for their care of these remains and willingness to do what’s right by them. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, it’s a sobering reminder that we had to travel that far to receive the respect we still can’t get here for our ancestors of Hickory Ground. But we won’t give up until like these, they’re made whole.
We also rekindled a connection to the UK Parliament through a project from Baroness Emma Nicholson of the House of Lords. The Baroness and her staff commissioned a Book that outlines the relationships, correspondence, contracts, treaties, maps, letters, and legal instruments drawn for the national archives in the British Library. It reveals the first hundred years of diplomacy, trade, and law between the British crown and the Iroquois confederacy, Chickasaw, Muskogee, and Cherokee nations in the years preceding American independence in 1776. We each received a copy for our Nations and presented a copy to King Charles III. What an experience and a historic moment for our Nation that I was so humbled to take part in.
Our Mvskoke Opunvkv Liaison Program held the 2nd Annual Speakers Symposium, which this year, was the largest modern gathering of first language Muscogee speakers we’ve ever had. Also, we have begun discussions on the development of an immersion program for Muscogee babies, to be brought up in the Language. We continue to expand our language classes both in our public schools and at the College of the Muscogee Nation. For too long, we’ve heard talks of our language dying. It’s up to us to keep it alive, and we are making great strides.
We celebrated 5 years of the Mvskoke Art Market this year, with our largest gathering of artists to date, with 105 artists participating. We continue to see an aggressive growth of this Market and it’s quickly becoming one of the staple events for Indigenous artists every year. We’re looking to continue to build it bigger and better for next year. And this will be our second year as a presenting sponsor of Indian Market at Santa Fe, placing our Nation in a highly visible spot and amplifying our voice in bringing important issues to a national platform.
Our agri-business continues to be an excellent asset for us and revenue stream for the Nation. This quarter alone, we brought in nearly $1 million dollars in combined retail sales from Looped Square Meat Co. and through our livestock sales.
We opened two new Child Development Centers, one in Wetumka and one in Okemah, fulfilling our promise to grow the Nation throughout every county and to invest in our most precious resource, our children who are our future.
We just finished off our 50th annual Festival, and it was one for the books. We’re proud of the spectacle our Festival month has become and how many visitors we attract every year to the Okmulgee area. Visitors who stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants, and shop at local retailers while they’re here. We understand that impact and the quality product that we must put forth to meet the expectations from the public. If you’re here today and you volunteered, coordinated, kept people safe, kept people from emergency, or made sure our events ran smoothly, I’d like you to please stand so we can all give you a round of applause. You are who makes the Festival so special and enjoyable for our guests and citizens!
We continue to show up for our communities.
We recently completed the installation of a new water pump station for the community of Dewar. Together, with our state and federal partners, this is part of a 36-project, $100 million joint venture to replace and update infrastructure across our Reservation. This is a massive need we identified and are taking care of.
Late last year, when the US Government had a lengthy shutdown, affecting families who utilize SNAP benefits, I convened a meeting of our leadership in areas of WIC, Community and Human Services, Social Services, Finance, and Food Distribution, along with members of our Executive team and National Council. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss our options as it pertains to those throughout our Reservation who may be affected by an interruption in services provided by federal monies. The swift action led to a series of food distribution events that allowed us to feed families while flexing food sovereignty from our own cattle and processing operations at the Looped Square Ranch and Meat Company.
Truly, one of the proudest moments for me as Chief was to see so many departments come together so quickly for SNAP families in need. If you are here today from MCN and participated in these distributions, whether it be in the planning or volunteering aspect, please stand up and be recognized.
These are just some examples of the progress we’ve made this year and the hard work and dedication of so many in our Cabinet Secretary divisions and various departments.
Please, I ask that you take the time to view our quarterly reports on the Nation’s website. These reports contain a more intensive breakdown of the data of each program and division and offer a real-time glimpse of how we’re doing throughout the year. Let us know, hold us accountable, and show us where you think we’re getting the job done or where we can improve.
The work continues.
There is still so much to accomplish in my next 18 months. A great emphasis will be setting this Nation on a correct path where our growth continues, and we have a solid foundation for the future.
I wish I could say that it’s easy and there won’t be challenging times. It seems like we’ve been handed a lifetime of roadblocks into these six short years.
Our sovereignty is still under attack. Our Constitution is under attack. Our identity is under attack. But will we have the strength to stand? The answer has to be yes, no matter how uncomfortable it becomes. We don’t answer to the outside world. Or the media. Or the naysayers. We answer to our ancestors and this citizenry of Mvskokvlke.
Together, we can do anything. And together, we decide who we are and where we’re going.
To the people who have entrusted me with this great honor and responsibility as Principal Chief, I promise that we’ll keep delivering on our mission of prosperity and progress for this great Nation. I am just as excited about this job today as I was on my first day, and we’ll continue, with your support and prayer, to keep striving forward every day towards our brightest future together.
Mvto, God Bless you all, and God Bless the Muscogee Nation!
To view the Principal Chief Hill’s speech, visit State of the Nation.
