Ross Swimmer

Former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (born 1943)

Ross Swimmer

4th Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs
In office
1985–1989
President| Ronald Reagan
Preceded by| Kenneth Smith
Succeeded by| Eddie Frank Brown
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
In office
1975–1985
Deputy| Wilma Mankiller
Preceded by| W. W. Keeler
Succeeded by| Wilma Mankiller
Personal details
Born|  (1943-10-26) October 26, 1943 (age 81)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political party| Republican
Spouse| Margaret Swimmer
Children| 2
Education| University of Oklahoma (BA, JD)

Ross Owen Swimmer (rear third from right)

Ross O. Swimmer (born October 26, 1943)[1] served as the Special Trustee for American Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2003 to 2009.[2][3] He was formerly the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. He is a Republican.[4]

Swimmer is 1/4 Cherokee by blood.[5]

## Education

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Swimmer attended the University of Oklahoma,[6] where he received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees.[2] While there, he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.

## Career

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He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and served as Principal Chief[2] from 1975 to 1985, when he resigned to accept the position of Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Wilma Mankiller, Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation succeeded Swimmer as Chief of the Cherokees. In 1987, he visited East Germany, resulting in excitement as the East-German population was fascinated by Western (genre).[7]

Swimmer served as president of the Cherokee Group, L.L.C., from 1995 until 2001. The Group is a consulting firm that represents Indian clients engaged in government issues at the state and federal level, and supports the development of businesses on Indian lands. He was also Of Counsel to the Tulsa, Oklahoma, based law firm of Hall Estill, where his wife Margaret is a Partner.

Working with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, Swimmer created a self-help program for rural community development.[6]

On November 26, 2001, he was appointed by the Bush administration to be the Director of the Office of Indian Trust Transition, which is a Department of Interior office that is attempting to bring the Indian Trust accounting process up to minimum court-ordered standards (Cobell v. Kempthorne).

## References

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1. ^ Speeches 1985
2. ^ a b c "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 2010-12-10.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. ^ "Margaret and Ross Swimmer".
4. ^ Thornton, Mary. "Harmony a Distant Fourth in Cherokee Vote". washingtonpost.com.
5. ^ https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/opinion/how-much-cherokee-is-he/article_46255192-b072-5549-b52c-a34554c2571a.html
6. ^ a b "About the Nation:Ross Swimmer". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
7. ^ Hoyer, Katja (2023). Diesseits der Mauer: Eine neue Geschichte der DDR 1949-1990 (in German) (1st ed.). Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe. p. 477\. ISBN 978-3-455-01568-3.

Political offices

Preceded by

W. W. Keeler

|  Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
1975–1985  | Succeeded by

Wilma Mankiller

* v
* t
* e

Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee

Early decentralized leaders
(pre-1794)|

* Outacite (d. 1729)
* Charitey Hagey of Tugaloo (1716–1721)
* Long Warrior of Tanasi (1729–1730)
* Wrosetasetow, "emperor" of the Cherokees until 1730
* Moytoy of Tellico (also known as Ama-edohi)
* Attakullakulla (1708/1711–1780)
* Amouskositte (1741–1753)
* Old Hop (1753–1756)
* Moytoy of Citico (1759–1761)
* Uka Ulah (d. 1761)
* Standing Turkey
* Otacity Ostenaco (ca. 1703–ca. 1780)
* Oconostota (also known as Ogan'sto', "Groundhog Sausage") (1778–1785)
* Savanukah of Chota (1781–1783)
* Old Tassel (or "Corntassel", "Tassel", Kaiyatahee) (1783–1788)
* Raven of Chota
* Little Turkey
* opposed by Hanging Maw (or Scolaguta) (served 1788–1794)

Chickamauga/Lower Cherokee
(1777–1809)|

* Dragging Canoe (1777–1792)
* John Watts (1792–1802)
* Doublehead, brother of Old Tassel served from 1802–1807
* The Glass, or Ta'gwadihi (1807–1809)

Cherokee Nation East
(1794–1839)|

* Little Turkey (1794–1801)
* Black Fox (1801–1811)
* Pathkiller (1811–1827)
* Big Tiger (1824–1828); principal chief of Whitepath's faction
* Charles R. Hicks (1827), de facto head of government from 1813
* William Hicks (1827–1828)
* John Ross (1828–1839)
* William Hicks (1833–1835)

Cherokee Nation West
(1810–1839)|

* The Bowl (1810–1813)
* Degadoga (1813–1817)
* Tahlonteeskee (1817–1819)
* John Jolly (1819–1838)
* John Looney (1838–1839)
* John Brown (1839)
* John Looney (1839)
* John Rogers (1839–1840)

Cherokee Nation in
Indian Territory (1839–1907)|

* John Ross (1839–1862)
* Thomas Pegg, acting principal chief of the Union Cherokee (1862–1863)
* Smith Christie, acting principal chief of the Union Cherokee (1863)
* Lewis Downing, acting principal chief of the Union Cherokee (1864–1866)
* Stand Watie, (1862–1866)
* John Ross (1866)
* William P. Ross (1866–1867)
* Lewis Downing (1867–1872)
* William P. Ross (1872–1875)
* Charles Thompson (1875–1879)
* Dennis Bushyhead (1879–1887)
* Joel B. Mayes (1887–1891)
* C. J. Harris (1891–1895)
* Samuel Houston Mayes (1895–1899)
* Thomas Buffington (1899–1903)
* William Rogers (1903–1905); deposed by the council
* Frank J. Boudinot (1905–1906); also president of the Keetoowah Nighthawk Society
* William Charles Rogers (1906)

United Keetoowah Band of
Cherokee Indians (1939–present)|

* John Hitcher (1939–1946)
* Jim Pickup (1946–1954)
* Jeff Tindle (1954–1960)
* Jim Pickup (1960–1967)
* William Glory (1967–1979)
* James L. Gordon (1979–1983)
* John Hair (1983–1991)
* John Ross (1991–1995)
* Jim Henson (1996–2000)
* Dallas Proctor (2000–2004)
* George Wickliffe (2005–2016)
* Joe Bunch (2016–present)

Cherokee Nation of
Oklahoma/Cherokee Nation
(1907–present)|

| Appointed|

* William C. Rogers (1907-1917)
* Charles J. Hunt (December 27, 1928)
* Oliver P. Brewer (May 26, 1931)
* William W. Hastings (January 22, 1936)
* J.B. Milam (1941–1949)
* W. W. Keeler (1949–1971)

|

Elected|

* W. W. Keeler (1971–1975)
* Ross Swimmer (1975–1985)
* Wilma Mankiller (1985–1995)
* Joe Byrd (1995–1999)
* Chad "Corntassel" Smith (1999–2011)
* S. Joe Crittenden (acting, 2011)
* Bill John Baker (2011–2019)
* Chuck Hoskin Jr. (2019–present)

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
(1824–present)|

* Yonaguska (1824–1839)
* Salonitah, or Flying Squirrel (1870–1875)
* Lloyd R. Welch (1875–1880)
* Nimrod Jarrett Smith (1880–1891)
* Stillwell Saunooke (1891–1895)
* Andy Standing Deer (1895–1899)
* Jesse Reed (1899–1903)
* Bird Saloloneeta, or Young Squirrel (1903–1907)
* John Goins Welch (1907–1911)
* Joseph A. Saunooke (1911–1915)
* David Blythe (1915–1919)
* Joseph A. Saunooke (1919–1923)
* Sampson Owl (1923–1927)
* John A. Tahquette (1927–1931)
* Jarret Blythe (1931–1947)
* Henry Bradley (1947–1951)
* Osley Bird Saunooke (1951–1955)
* Jarret Blythe (1955–1959)
* Olsey Bird Saunooke (1959–1963)
* Jarret Blythe (1963–1967)
* Walter Jackson (1967–1971)
* Noah Powell (1971–1973)
* John A. Crowe (1973–1983)
* Robert S. Youngdeer (1983–1987)
* Jonathan L. Taylor (1987–1995)
* Gerard Parker (1995)
* Joyce Dugan (1995–1999)
* Leon Jones (1999–2003)
* Michell Hicks (2003–2015)
* Patrick Lambert (2015–2017)
* Richard Sneed (2017–2023)
* Michell Hicks (2023–present)

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