Statement by Cara Cowan Watts: Claremore Indian Hospital Should Remain a Hospital
Former Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilmember and Chair of the Claremore Indian Hospital Tribal Advisory Board
For Immediate Release
If the Cherokee Nation cannot afford to operate the Claremore Indian Hospital as a full-service hospital—and maintain care for all patients including those from the 13 Tribes with an ownership share—then they should not assume control. They should return it to the federal government.
Since being elected to the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council in 2003, I have consistently and publicly advocated for the Claremore Indian Hospital (CIHS)including the Cherokee Nation assuming control in order to improve the facility by building a new hospital—its facility, its patients, its essential services, and the staff who are the backbone of the care our Elders, Mothers, Children, and Families rely on every single day.
The current crisis is not new. The deterioration of the hospital’s physical condition has been decades in the making. It wasn’t a surprise. It was ignored. Cherokee Nation leadership failed to act and is now seizing CIHS not out of a desire to serve our people—but because they thought they could chase federal dollars and build another grand edifice. Now that those funds are no longer guaranteed, our people are being asked to accept less. That is unacceptable.
CIHS must remain a hospital—real, working, fully operational—and services must be expanded, not stripped. The geographic size of the Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band means we must have a full hospital in the North—possibly two—to serve our people. Expecting mothers, working families, and Elders with limited transportation options cannot simply be rerouted to Tahlequah. For too many, this is a matter of life and death.
The Cherokee Nation’s health care should not be sacrificed to political ego or financial miscalculations. If current leadership cannot rise to meet this challenge—then they must return CIHS to the federal government or make way for leadership that will invest in all of our communities, not just a select few.
This decision does not lift us up—it tears us down.
Relevant Qualifications of Cara Cowan Watts
12 years as Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilor (2003–2015), including service as Deputy Speaker and Acting Speaker
Chair, Claremore Indian Hospital IHS Tribal Advisory Board (2007–2012), and board member (2004–2012)
Appointee to federal and state advisory bodies including U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and HHS AI/AN Health Research Advisory Council
Brought $1.5 million in grant funding directly to Rogers and Tulsa Counties
Co-Founder, Rogers County Cherokee Association (RCCA)
Award-winning leader, including recognition by NCAI, NCAIED, and Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women
