Holmes Colbert

Holmes Colbert (Chickasaw) was a leader of the Chickasaw Nation in what would become Oklahoma. Of mixed European and Chickasaw ancestry, Colbert was born to his mother's Chickasaw clan and gained status through them, as the tribe was matrilineal.

Educated in an American school, he also learned of European-American culture and contributed to his tribe. He helped write the Chickasaw Nation's constitution in the 1850s after its removal to Indian Territory and reorganization of its government. Colbert served as the tribe's delegate to Washington, DC after the American Civil War.