Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People
A full-color photography book showcasing Oklahoma paired with the histories of companies, institutions, and organizations that have made the state great.
A full-color photography book showcasing Oklahoma paired with the histories of companies, institutions, and organizations that have made the state great.
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CHICKASAW<br />
NATION<br />
Above: Bill Anoatubby, governor of the<br />
Chickasaw Nation.<br />
Since Bill Anoatubby was elected governor<br />
of the Chickasaw Nation in 1987, the tribe<br />
has become a major force in a positive transformation<br />
underway in southern <strong>Oklahoma</strong>.<br />
In recent years that transforming power has<br />
had an increasingly powerful effect on the<br />
entire state.<br />
Most have heard the phrase “a rising tide<br />
lifts all boats.” While that metaphor has been<br />
used effectively to illustrate the idea that a<br />
growing economy benefits everyone, it could<br />
be extended to just as effectively illustrate<br />
the same principle with any indicator of the<br />
quality of life.<br />
A growing economy benefits everyone<br />
concerned because more money circulating in<br />
the economy means rewarding employment is<br />
more readily available, people are more likely<br />
to have access to disposable income and new<br />
businesses are more likely to succeed.<br />
There is a similar dynamic at work in regard<br />
to other factors affecting the quality of life.<br />
Better hospitals, staffed with more doctors,<br />
nurses and other healthcare providers, naturally<br />
lead to easier access to quality healthcare.<br />
More highly qualified, motivated law<br />
enforcement officers equipped with first-rate<br />
tools of the trade improves public safety.<br />
While a rising tide begins with a robust,<br />
growing economy, that tide truly lifts all<br />
boats when the money produced is reinvested<br />
into the community, leading to more business<br />
opportunities, pride in community, higher<br />
quality healthcare, a more effective transportation<br />
system and more confidence in the<br />
level of public safety.<br />
That is the reason the Chickasaw Nation,<br />
under the visionary leadership of Governor<br />
Anoatubby, takes a comprehensive view of a<br />
variety of factors as it strives to achieve its<br />
mission to enhance the overall quality of life<br />
of the Chickasaw people.<br />
A healthy, growing economy is the<br />
foundation of that mission and the tribe has<br />
focused a great deal of time and energy on<br />
economic development.<br />
Since the Chickasaw Nation began operating<br />
its first tribal business in 1972, the tribe<br />
has made a concerted effort to build a<br />
sustainable source of revenue by diversifying<br />
its business portfolio.<br />
When the Chickasaw Nation opened its<br />
first business, the Chickasaw Motor Inn in<br />
Sulphur, <strong>Oklahoma</strong>, it developed a wide<br />
range of other opportunities and now<br />
operates more than 100 successful businesses.<br />
Less than three decades ago, in 1987,<br />
the Chickasaw Nation operated just over<br />
thirty programs with more than ninety<br />
percent of the funding coming from the<br />
federal government. The budget for federal<br />
programs was little more than $7 million.<br />
Today, successful tribal economic development<br />
efforts enable the Chickasaw Nation to<br />
fund a majority of its programs and services.<br />
The tribe offers more than 200 tribally<br />
funded programs. The tribal budget has<br />
grown exponentially, funding services from<br />
education, healthcare and nutrition to<br />
housing and family services.<br />
Although the primary goals of economic<br />
development are providing revenue for the<br />
tribe’s government and funding for programs<br />
and services, there is ample evidence the<br />
Chickasaw Nation is making a significant<br />
contribution to the overall health of the<br />
economy in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>.<br />
A study found that the Chickasaw Nation<br />
had an economic impact of more than<br />
$2.4 billion on the <strong>Oklahoma</strong> economy in<br />
2011 and supported approximately 16,000<br />
jobs in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>.<br />
Chickasaw Nation businesses generated<br />
$1.39 billion from tribal business activities,<br />
which include manufacturing, banking,<br />
tourism, energy, healthcare, hospitality<br />
and entertainment.<br />
At the time of the study, the Chickasaw<br />
Nation employed more than 10,000 people<br />
in <strong>Oklahoma</strong> with $318 million in direct<br />
payroll contributions. That makes the tribe<br />
the seventh largest employer in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>,<br />
surpassing even the U.S. Postal Service.<br />
Multiplier effects of Chickasaw Nation<br />
operations helped create more than 5,900<br />
additional jobs with a payroll of more than<br />
$206 million. In total, tribal business and<br />
governmental operations resulted in $525<br />
million in income for <strong>Oklahoma</strong> workers.<br />
While this contribution to the health of<br />
the <strong>Oklahoma</strong> economy is meaningful in<br />
itself, it is made even more significant<br />
O K L A H O M A : A S t o r y T h r o u g h H e r P e o p l e<br />
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