TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Contract health services within the Cherokee Nation will receive additional funding due to an increase in casino dividends.

The Cherokee Nation Tribal Council voted to increase the monthly dividend the tribe receives from its for-profit corporations by 5 percent Monday night, with the additional funding going exclusively to contract health care.

With Monday night’s vote, the tribe now receives 35 percent of the corporations’ annual profits. It will take effect once Principal Chief Bill John Baker signs the bill into law, something he previously pledged to do.

“This act will be the first act I sign as chief of the Cherokee Nation,” Baker said as part of his inaugural address.

Once signed into law, the bill will help provide additional funds for eyeglasses, prosthetics, hearing aids, cancer treatments and other contract health services for Cherokee citizens who live within the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction.

“We have an obligation to take care of our people and help ensure our well-being,” Baker said. “This is a step towards fulfilling that obligation.”

The next regular Tribal Council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. in the Tribal Council Chambers of the W.W. Keeler Complex in Tahlequah.