Cherokee Nation leaders say Route 66 ran through sovereign Cherokee lands and will be central to centennial events

Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. told listeners the Cherokee Nation will use the Route 66 centennial to foreground Cherokee history and sovereignty. "When the highway was officially designated, it cut directly through our sovereign lands," Hoskin said, adding that the Nation is ensuring its history is "not just acknowledged, but experienced."

Hoskin urged visitors to see Cherokee communities along the corridor and named the Anna Mitchell Cultural Center as a key stop. He framed the centennial as an opportunity to deepen public understanding beyond the road's popular mythology: "The story of Route 66 is about movement across a landscape, but it's also about the people who call that landscape home." The chief noted towns such as Bonita, Catoosa, Chelsea and Claremore as places founded by Cherokee people and said the Nation will participate in centennial activities that showcase Cherokee arts, culture and history.

Hoskin stressed the historical context often missing from popular accounts: he asked audiences to recognize how the allotment era and statehood shaped Cherokee life before the highway, and said centennial programming should reflect that fuller history. He encouraged travelers to go “off the beaten path” to Tahlequah and other sites tied to Cherokee heritage. The program closed with a call to visit displays and events across the Nation during the summer centennial observances.