Affordable Housing

This is the linchpin of Cherokee Town. In the Cherokee Nation alone, housing, especially affordable, safe, and manageable homes are desperately needed. Let’s look at a few facts:

· A 2025 Cherokee Nation Housing Assessment estimates a demand of 8,800 to 9,400 new housing units over the next decade, with 6,000 to 6,500 units needed immediately (i.e. current shortfall).

· A tribal survey and related reporting also peg the housing deficit at $1.75 billion over 10 years.

· In media coverage, that figure (8,800 units) is often repeated as the number needed across all types and price points to restore housing security for Cherokee citizens.

· The Housing, Jobs, and Sustainable Communities Act (2019/2022) has funded new construction and rehabilitation, but tribal leadership acknowledges that those efforts are falling short of the scale of unmet demand.

· As of recent reports, Cherokee Nation has built 363 new homes under the programs so far, with more under construction.

· The Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation (HACN) has a backlog: 750 land-owning applicants and 2,000 landless applicants waiting for homes, per recent statements.

Those are some startling numbers, but the human cost is much more dire. This is not a want by many in CN, but a dire need. Our program will begin by building a facility to make panelized housing that can be constructed quickly and efficiently. This is how it works:

We begin with a template of a 640 square foot dwelling that has two bedrooms, a bath, and a large kitchen dining room area. These units, once we are at full production, can be built in as little as a week with proper people power. Not only does this mean housing our citizens, but it also means good paying jobs for those constructing them.

Our next phase will be to expand that template to a thousand square foot, three-bedroom, bath and a half home for a small family. We plan on having a construction facility in every district of the Cherokee Nation.

We will also provide a common community center in each location for social gatherings as well as an after-school program. But more about that in our Community tab on the website.

This endeavor will go a long way in helping with the crush of housing that is needed in the reservation, as well as provide much needed jobs.