Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. speaks to press following the State of the State address on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (Blake Douglas)
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One day after Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. spoke to the Oklahoma House of Representatives and referenced his opposition to proposals that could rollback Medicaid expansion, Speaker Kyle Hilbert wrote Hoskin a letter expressing his “disappointment” with the chief’s decision to “delve into political matters” during his invited speech.
“It was quite inappropriate and contrary to our House rules for an invited guest to delve into political matters. I was particularly concerned with the tone and tenor of the speech, which was in direct contrast to the public position of an overwhelming majority of the members of the House of Representatives,” wrote Hilbert (R-Bristow). “While it is understandable, and frankly, to be expected for the Cherokee Nation to have public concerns with adjustments to Medicaid, there are other forums where this advocacy is more appropriate. To put it into perspective, there is no circumstance where I, as an invited guest, to either the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council or an Inter-Tribal Council meeting, would use the platform bestowed upon me to take positions contrary to the Cherokee Nation.”
In a same-day response to Hilbert’s letter — provided to NonDoc by the speaker’s office — Hoskin wrote a two-sentence letter back to Hilbert.
“Wado for your letter,” Hoskin wrote. “Your letter, better than anything I have seen during my time as principal chief, illustrates the great challenges for tribes in engaging with the state of Oklahoma.”
With Hilbert’s letter obtained by NonDoc from a third-party unrelated to the Cherokee Nation, Hilbert ultimately said Hoskin “will not be invited back to the House” owing to the kerfuffle.
During his remarks April 8, Hoskin told legislators Medicaid expansion has had more than $220 million in economic impact, created 14,000 jobs and is vital to the Cherokee Nation’s health care system.
“I consider this entire Legislature a friend to the Cherokee people and the Cherokee Nation. Friends sometimes need to level with each other and I want to level with you about Medicaid expansion,” Hoskin said. “Medicaid expansion has generated about $91 million within the Cherokee Nation health system alone. Every single penny goes into that nursing school, goes into that clinic, goes into that young person who wants to be a doctor or a nurse tomorrow. Goes into that system of wellness that we are growing. It goes into grants that we provide to communities to upgrade what they are doing in terms of wellness. Those are some of the best dollars that any government could ever spend.”
On Tuesday, the State Senate advanced new versions of HB 4440 and HJR 1067, which would place state questions on Oklahoma’s Nov. 3 general election ballot offering two options for loosening the current requirement that adults up to 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level qualify for Medicaid.
Crafted after a week’s worth of conversation between Senate GOP leaders and health care stakeholders, HB 4440’s new version would retain the constitutional Medicaid expansion requirement voters narrowly approved in 2020. However, it would remove language currently blocking “greater or additional burdens or restrictions on eligibility or enrollment.” Instead, if the federal government ever lowers its funding percentage below 90 percent for the expanded adult population, HB 4440’s proposed language would trigger an ability for legislators to add additional requirements and parameters to adult eligibility for Medicaid.
HJR 1067’s new version, on the other hand, would entirely transfer the Medicaid expansion language from the constitution to statute if the federal funding percentage drops below 90 percent.
Because both bills were amended, they must head back to the House for a final vote.
Hoskin: ‘This state can’t afford to lose Medicaid expansion’
The portion of Hoskin’s speech which most likely drew Hilbert’s ire involved Hoskin’s promise to “do everything I can to try and protect” Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma.
“My friends, I know there are concerns about the cost of Medicaid. I know there are concerns about whether this state can afford to keep Medicaid expansion. I know that weighs on you. I just want you to know from the chief of the Cherokee Nation — someone who works with people who are committed like you are to a bright future in which we expand opportunities for wellness — my conclusion isn’t (that) we can’t afford it. My conclusion is that this state can’t afford to lose Medicaid expansion, and I will do everything I can to try and protect it,” Hoskin said. “What I know about our friendship, and I’m talking about the friendship between the Cherokee Nation and the state of Oklahoma, is that it’s one of the most important friendships in this state if not the most important friendship in this state. There are things we can do together in this century that we cannot do alone.”
In his April 9 letter to Hoskin, Hilbert pushed back on that assessment.
“As a leader yourself, I know you understand that budgets are constrained by available resources. Choices as to how to stretch taxpayer dollars never please everyone. Health care is no exception. Just as with you and your council, the tough decisions we are required to make aren’t always popular decisions but they nevertheless must be made,” Hilbert wrote. “I will continue to have an open door policy with the leadership of the Cherokee Nation, as I always have, and will continue to have honest dialogue with the great people of the Cherokee Nation as we continue to work together in making our state and our communities better.”
Julie Hubbard, the Cherokee Nation’s communications director, defended Hoskin’s remarks on the Oklahoma House floor in a statement Thursday.
“Given the gravity in which the speed of the Medicaid Expansion bills were developing, and the vast impact repealing these bills has on the Cherokee Nation — $162 Million that goes directly into improving the tribe’s health care system and $222 million into the northeastern Oklahoma economy — Chief Hoskin’s speech on the House floor was timely, respectful and measured,” Hubbard said. “Chief Hoskin has great respect for Speaker Hilbert and considers him a friend.”
In a statement Thursday, Hilbert took issue with his letter to Hoskin becoming public.
“This is clearly self-promotion by Chief Hoskin,” Hilbert said. “My letter was only distributed to him and his staff. The letter speaks for itself. He will not be invited back to the House. I will always defend the institution of the House of Representatives. I do appreciate Chief Hoskin leaking this private communication, bringing more attention the drain on tax dollars Obamacare has been and continues to be for Oklahomans.”
This is not the first time Hoskin has drawn attention for advocating for the Cherokee Nation’s interests before another government’s legislative body by alluding to negative consequences. In August, Hoskin spoke to the Muscogee National Council in opposition to a resolution supported by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. That proposed resolution, which would have signaled Muscogee Nation support for the UKB’s effort to place land in trust for the purpose of operating a casino, was ultimately shelved.
“What is happening within the Cherokee Nation Reservation is an assault on our history, on our treaties, on our reservation, on our very identity,” Hoskin told Muscogee legislators. “If this is approved, the Muscogee National Council is entering into that debate — that conflict — in a way that will do irreparable damage to something that I hold dear as principal chief (…) and that is the relationship and the friendship between the Muscogee Nation and the Cherokee Nation. This does injury to it, and this National Council has to decide whether inflicting that injury is in the interest of the Muscogee Nation.”
Read Hilbert’s full letter to Hoskin
Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) wrote a letter Thursday, April 9, 2026, to Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. (Screenshot)
Read Hoskin’s letter in response to Hilbert’s letter
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. responded to Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert’s letter Thursday, April 9, 2026. (Screenshot)
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Tristan Loveless is a NonDoc Media reporter covering legal matters and other civic issues in the Tulsa area. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation who grew up in Turley and Skiatook, he graduated from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 2023. Before that, he taught for the Tulsa Debate League in Tulsa Public Schools.
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Tres Savage (William W. Savage III) has served as editor in chief of NonDoc since the publication launched in 2015. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and worked in health care for six years before returning to the media industry. He is a nationally certified Mental Health First Aid instructor and serves on the board of the Oklahoma Media Center.
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