The Summer Youth Leadership Program is a paid internship that aims to provide students an opportunity to become more familiar with the Cherokee Nation as a whole, i.e. Tribal Government, Administrative Functions, and Cherokee History and Language.

In this program, the interns are given the opportunity to job shadow in an area of their interest, participate in 20+ hours of community service, and take a trip out to Cherokee, North Carolina to retrace the Trail of Tears - getting a firsthand experience of the history and journey of the Cherokee Nation.

This program meets during the summer months of June and July - dates vary each summer.

Applications for the Summer Youth Leadership Program are available in March of each year.  

Basic Eligibility Criteria  

  • Cherokee Nation citizen

  • 18-22 years of age

  • Must be a high school graduate with a GPA of 3.0 or above

Note: Former participants may not apply.

This is a paid internship program - pay rate of $11.00 per hour.

For more information, please contact the Career Services main office at 918-453-5555, or your local Career Services Satellite site.

Downloads

Basic Eligibility Criteria

279.5 KB / Created February 9, 2026 / Updated February 9, 2026

Outlines eligibility for Cherokee Nation’s Summer Youth Leadership Program, including age, residency, GPA, citizenship, and recommendation requirements.

Summer Youth Leadership Application

170.8 KB / Created February 9, 2026 / Updated February 9, 2026

Application for Cherokee Nation’s Summer Youth Leadership Program requiring transcripts, references, personal narrative, photo, and eligibility details.

Updated August 23, 2026