Hesci! Stonkon follakcv?
I hope everyone isn’t too full from the wild onion dinners!
It’s good to address you all this month as we head for summer with lots going on here at the Muscogee Nation.
We can’t talk about summer and leave out the biggest party of the summer, the 50th Annual Muscogee Nation Festival! It’s hard to believe that our premiere event of the year is turning 50. This all started as just a rodeo, and look at it now, nearly a whole month of fun, fellowship, and Muscogee culture on full display. I’m biased, but my favorite events are the downtown parade and the meet-and-greet. This gives us a chance to see citizens and guests in person and to meet families and loved ones from all over. It’s great hearing from them directly and getting a chance to visit on a personal level. I hope everyone’s ready!
We’re also getting closer to opening up the all-new 4-story Muscogee Nation Citizen Services Building here on campus. This building is a dream come true and a giant step forward for the culmination of a master plan for tribal headquarters that has been a vision for many years. Visits to do business at the Nation for citizens will now be much more centralized and cohesive, making trips to the tribe much more accessible and hopefully less stressful. We’re very proud to see the finishing touches going up on the building, and we can’t wait to move in and get started. Looks like next month!
Recently, I had the opportunity to accompany tribal officials to the community of Dewar, where we installed a new water pump station. Together with state and federal partners, this is part of the $100 million investment in infrastructure that we are making across our Reservation. The 36 projects have been a wonderful addition, both presently and for the future, in these cities and towns. It’s why we say we are “For Our Communities.”
It’s graduation season, and I want to say congratulations to all our citizens out there who are graduating and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. It’s a special time for these graduates and families, and I’m so proud of each of you. It was great to see another graduation ceremony at the College of the Muscogee Nation, as our institution continues to grow and advance. Drive by CMN sometime and just look at all the progress, it’s amazing. I cannot wait to see what the future holds.
Speaking of graduations, I have been given the honor of delivering the Commencement Address for Northeastern State University and receiving an honorary doctorate on May 11 in Tulsa. I’m excited to address this class and am humbled by the distinction.
We have a great summer in store!
Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.
MVTO,
Chief Hill
