Editing Stilwell, Oklahoma (section)

==Health==
Scientists have suggested Stilwell's environment may be contaminated with unsafe levels of [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], and as of 2021, studies are ongoing.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Sather|first1=Mark E.|last2=Mukerjee|first2=Shaibal|last3=Smith|first3=Luther|last4=Mathew|first4=Johnson|last5=Jackson|first5=Clarence|last6=Callison|first6=Ryan|last7=Scrapper|first7=Larry|last8=Hathcoat|first8=April|last9=Adam|first9=Jacque|last10=Keese|first10=Danielle|last11=Ketcher|first11=Philip|date=2013-04-01|title=Gaseous oxidized mercury dry deposition measurements in the Four Corners area and Eastern Oklahoma, U.S.A.|journal=Atmospheric Pollution Research|volume=4|issue=2|pages=168–180|doi=10.5094/APR.2013.017|issn=1309-1042|doi-access=free|bibcode=2013AtmPR...4..168S }}</ref> Rainfall samples collected over a 13-year span at an air quality station near Stilwell found abnormally high levels of mercury. The study found an annual average mercury concentration of nearly 11&nbsp;ng/L, about one and a half times higher than the national average.<ref name=":3" /> The [[Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality]] warned residents against eating certain fish from Stilwell's city lake in 2019, furthering suspicion that the town's aquifer could be contaminated.<ref>{{Cite web|last=dsmoot@muskogeephoenix.com|first=D. E. Smoot|title=Fish consumption advisory at Stilwell Lake furthers suspicions|url=https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/fish-consumption-advisory-at-stilwell-lake-furthers-suspicions/article_61e54830-8fc2-5717-b7c4-5eee85f776ed.html|access-date=2021-01-21|website=Muskogee Phoenix|date=October 15, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Stilwell was labelled "the early death capital of the world" after a detailed report by the [[National Center for Health Statistics]] surfaced in 2018 indicating the life expectancy of the town's residents was just 56.3 years. The agency stated the report was their "most detailed local health data ever released"<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=|title=The Strawberry Capital of the World is the early death capital of the world|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/09/14/wrong-neighborhood-can-take-plus-years-off-your-life-average/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> and the life expectancy of Stilwell residents was lower than that in every jurisdiction in [[North America]], [[Europe]] or [[Asia]], with a similar life-expectancy to the poorest regions of [[sub-Saharan Africa]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=World|first=Michael Overall Tulsa|title=Stilwell, Oklahoma, has lowest life expectancy in the United States|url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/stilwell-oklahoma-has-lowest-life-expectancy-in-the-united-states/article_c32cce0a-73cd-5506-a7c8-9d19843e818a.html|access-date=2021-01-21|website=Tulsa World|date=September 18, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Cherokee Nation]] disputed the report initially before further studies were done, stating the data "has to be flawed.”<ref>{{Cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|last=Maureen Wurtz, KTUL|date=2020-02-24|title=CDC data was "flawed" when it listed Stilwell as the town with the lowest life expectancy|url=https://ktul.com/news/local/cdc-data-was-flawed-when-it-listed-stilwell-as-the-town-with-the-lowest-life-expectancy|access-date=2021-01-21|website=KTUL}}</ref> In February 2020, the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] stated they would soon release their own report increasing the town's life expectancy figure to 74 years.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Overall|first1=Michael|title=Oklahoma town doesn't have the nation's lowest life expectancy after all|url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/oklahoma-town-doesn-t-have-the-nation-s-lowest-life/article_8a7ff136-f834-557a-8ce6-df1511b16183.html|access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Wurtz|first1=Maureen|title=CDC data was "flawed" when it listed Stilwell as the town with the lowest life expectancy|url=https://ktul.com/news/local/cdc-data-was-flawed-when-it-listed-stilwell-as-the-town-with-the-lowest-life-expectancy|access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref> The CDC stated that the National Center for Health Statistics report was "flawed" because 90 deceased individuals with P.O. box addresses in Stilwell that lived outside city limits were included in the report, producing inaccurate data. Despite the correction, Stilwell's Roberts Reed Culver Funeral Home reports half of all funerals performed in 2018 were for people in their 50's and 60's.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wurtz|first=Maureen|date=2019-02-04|title=Living to 56: A look at life in Stilwell, Oklahoma|url=https://ktul.com/news/investigations/living-to-56-a-look-at-life-in-stilwell-oklahoma|access-date=2021-01-19|website=KTUL}}</ref>

16% of adults in Stilwell have [[diabetes]], 27% [[Smoking|smoke]], and 42% are [[Obesity|obese]], according to the [[Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences]].<ref name="omaha.com">{{Cite web|title=Stilwell, Oklahoma, tops troubling list: shortest life spans in nation|url=https://omaha.com/eedition/sunrise/articles/stilwell-oklahoma-tops-troubling-list-shortest-life-spans-in-nation/article_a0d22202-d90b-52c1-b3f1-d72ea1258683.html|access-date=2021-02-01|website=Omaha.com|language=en}}</ref> Health services include the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller Health Clinic, the Stilwell Memorial Hospital, the Oklahoma Department of Public Health, and the Stilwell Nursing Home.<ref name="EOHC-Stilwell" /> According to the [[United States Census Bureau|Census Bureau]], 28.5% of all residents, and 60% of those in Stilwell who are unemployed do not have [[Health insurance in the United States|health insurance]].<ref name=":0" />

Stilwell city council passed a [[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|mask mandate]] in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Oklahoma|COVID-19 pandemic]] on July 8, 2020, taking advice from a local infectious disease specialist.<ref name="editor@stilwelldemocrat.com">{{Cite web|last=Fite|first=Renee|title=Stilwell mask mandate generates controversy|url=https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/stilwell-mask-mandate-generates-controversy/article_cc4b8f39-6d44-54ae-9966-ce6a01516099.html|access-date=2021-02-14|website=Tahlequah Daily Press|date=July 8, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Just 10 days later, city council struck down the mandate advising face masks would no longer required after receiving "extremely hostile" responses and threats against officials.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Oklahoma|first=Renee Fite {{!}} CNHI|title=Stilwell City Council strikes down mask mandate|url=https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/stilwell-city-council-strikes-down-mask-mandate/article_b232053a-c854-11ea-ae90-d7c04004529b.html|access-date=2021-02-14|website=Tahlequah Daily Press|date=July 18, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="editor@stilwelldemocrat.com"/>