District 10, December 2021

Halito, Chim Achukma from District 10.

As we find ourselves in another Holiday season with Christmas rapidly approaching, we remember the reasons to be thankful for all the blessings in the Choctaw Nation. We just finished our Thanksgiving drive-thru senior meal, and it was a great success. Yakoke to all that helped to make it successful!

We are excited to gather back at our senior lunches; we plan to offer inside fellowship or curbside pickup for our Wednesday lunches. I know our seniors are very anxious to get back to their regular activities. They have been missing senior volleyball and the fellowship that comes with gathering on a regular basis. As we gather, we need to remember the pandemic is still a thing to consider. We want to remind everyone that booster shots are now available through our clinics. Also, be mindful that it is flu season, and those shots are also available at the clinics.

I want to remind you to apply for your ARPA dollars through the programs that the Tribe initiated (current response rates for elder food is at 48%, adult economic is at 56% and dependent is at 105%). These dollars are federal pass-through dollars meant to help mitigate the effects of the pandemic, and whether we realize it or not, inflation is affecting us all. I encourage everyone to apply for these programs and if any assistance is needed, get in touch with your community center.

The Choctaw Nation is in a solid financial condition right now, but we must remain vigilant in the care of our assets. The national economy is showing signs of inflation, and some may be due to the supply chain issues that the pandemic has caused. As we continue to grow our footprint in our tribal boundaries, we feel the effects of building material prices continuing to rise. We must continue to do our part to raise the standard of living for our Choctaw people by providing opportunities for good quality jobs here in the reservation boundaries.

Choctaw Global, our investment arm of the Choctaw Nation, invited Council to tour through central Texas and visit some of our investment properties in those areas. Our trip started off by visiting Stacy Point Multi-family investment in Allen, Texas, and then to Dallas to tour our Multi-family investment on McKinney Avenue. The next leg of our trip took us to Waco, Texas, to tour our Senior living Emerald Cottages and finish up the evening with dinner with JTS Capital partners. We then made our way to Kyle, Texas to spend the night and be ready to tour our multi-family investment where construction is well underway. We then headed toward College Station, Texas to our land development property, where we are selling residential lots. Big shout out to the Global Investments team and the work they are doing to help bring more dollars to the investment portfolio for the Tribe!

I wish you, and your families, a very merry Christmas. I pray that God richly blesses you and your families.

Yakoke!