Cherokee Nation Opens Sequoyah Hunting Preserve
Cherokee Nation Opens New Sequoyah Hunting Preserve Facility, Names First Conservation Officer
Education, stewardship and on-the-ground enforcement
Tribal officials cut the ribbon on the new building Sept. 26. The single-story facility includes office space for preserve staff and a classroom configured for hunter education, outreach and conservation trainings. Leaders said the classroom will host workshops on topics ranging from safe firearm handling and hunter ethics to habitat management and traditional hunting practices.
“This facility gives us a home base to teach, to manage and to welcome our citizens,” a Cherokee Nation official said at the ceremony. With an on-site education space, the preserve can expand youth programming and targeted training for elders and other priority groups in the harvest draws.
Brek Henry: boots on the ground
Brek Henry — a Cherokee citizen with roughly three decades of experience as a state game warden — has been named the preserve’s first conservation officer. Henry will patrol the preserve’s leased and tribal lands, investigate wildlife and hunting violations, and lead outreach efforts aimed at sustainable harvest practices and stewardship.
Program goals and community impact
The Sequoyah Hunting Preserve spans more than 4,000 acres in Sequoyah County and is operated by the tribe’s wildlife conservation department. Now in its fifth season of controlled deer hunts, the preserve uses a draw system that reserves categories for Cherokee youth, Cherokee speakers, elders, veterans and an open draw for other eligible citizens.
Officials say controlled hunts meet multiple goals: they help manage deer populations for ecological health, provide predictable access to harvestable meat for families, and support the transmission of cultural knowledge about hunting and land stewardship across generations.
Sovereignty, partnership and regional context
Tribal leaders framed the expansion of on-site conservation capacity as an exercise of tribal sovereignty: by operating preserves and enforcement programs on tribal lands, the Cherokee Nation can set rules, determine eligibility and manage natural resources consistent with cultural values and community needs.
The move also comes amid broader regional cooperation among Oklahoma tribes on wildlife management, as tribes coordinate hunting and fishing reciprocity in ways that complement — and at times prompt discussion with — state wildlife agencies. Tribal officials said the addition of a conservation officer complements the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service and strengthens the tribe’s ability to protect land, water and wildlife.
Looking ahead
With Henry on the ground and the new education space available, tribal conservation staff say they plan to increase outreach, expand youth education sessions and sharpen enforcement that focuses on habitat protection and ethical harvests. The preserve’s controlled draws will continue to prioritize access for Cherokee families and groups with cultural ties to the land.
For tribal citizens interested in participating in the draw, the Wildlife Conservation Department posts season details, eligibility rules and draw application instructions on its official pages. The preserve’s stewardship model is being watched by other tribes and conservation groups as an example of combining traditional practices with formal wildlife management.
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