Ceremony set for tribally affiliated med school in Oklahoma

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — The Cherokee Nation is welcoming 54 first-year medical students to to the nation’s first tribally affiliated medical school. The Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation planned a ceremony on Friday to recognize the students.

The school is located on the campus of a tribal health facility in Tahlequah, which is where the Cherokee Nation is headquartered. Construction on the 84,000-square-foot medical school building was delayed because of the pandemic, but is scheduled to be completed in December.

Meanwhile, temporary classrooms have been set up at the Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center.