06/03/2026
Cherokee Nation Gadugi Corps “Gadugi Summer” participants performed volunteer work in Vinita on Tuesday. Among their projects was clean up of Eastern State Hospital Cemetery, located near the grounds of the former state mental health institution. Cherokee Nation citizen Corinne Losi of Washington reached out to Cherokee Nation advocating for volunteers to help clean up the cemetery. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner put the project in the hands of Gadugi Corps, let by Shawn Crittenden, putting Ms. Losi’s advocacy into action. The project holds special significance for Ms. Losi, whose grandmother shared the name Corinne — a name given to her by her own mother, who is buried in the cemetery — making the preservation of this sacred place a deeply personal effort to honor her family’s history and memory.
District 11 Councilor Kendra McGeady, Gadugi Corps staff and Gadugi Summer volunteers, through an agreement with the Oklahoma Forensic Center, spent the day performing clean up and basic field preservation work at the historic cemetery. Eastern State Hospital, built in 1911 and closed in 2008, was integral to the Vinita economy and was succeeded by the Oklahoma Forensic Center.
For information on volunteering with Gadugi Corps, visit gadugi-corps.cherokee.org!
