TULSA, Okla. – Cherokee Nation’s goal is to introduce Hollywood to the beauty and diversity of its 14-county reservation with its Cherokee Nation Film Incentive program.

The Cherokee Nation Film Incentive will provide up to $1 million in annual funding for productions filmed within the Cherokee Nation’s northeast Oklahoma reservation.  Applications for the tribe’s film incentive programs begin on March 1.

“Since establishing our film office, we’ve worked diligently alongside our state and local partners to help grow the film and television industries in Oklahoma,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in a prepared statement.

The groundbreaking film incentive program will be the first tribal film office in the country.

The Cherokee Nation Film Office became the first certified American Indian film commission to open in the country in 2019. Part of its program is to maintain a unique, all-inclusive talent, crew, and consulting online directories featuring American Indian actors, extras, voice actors, crew, cultural experts, and other industry resources. 

The byproduct of the program is economic development by employing American Indian citizens and using American Indian-owned businesses.   

The Filmed in Oklahoma Act of 2021, administered by the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, offers productions a cash rebate based on several qualifying factors. The Cherokee program offers a cash rebate for qualified production expenses.

“Encouraging productions to film within Cherokee Nation’s many vast and beautiful locations, as well as to hire Indigenous people and utilize Native-owned businesses, offers an immense amount of opportunity for tribal citizens, families, and businesses to benefit from the rapid growth of these industries within our state,” said Jennifer Loren, director of Cherokee Nation Film Office and Original Content.

Additional details regarding the Cherokee Nation Film Incentive are available at https://cherokee.film/filmincentives.