W. W. Keeler - Cherokee Nation

Cherokee Nation

Some consider Keeler to be the most influential person to the Cherokee nation aside from John Ross, who battled the removal of Indians and fought against the “Trail of Tears.” He has promoted infrastructure building within Cherokee land while serving as chief. Although Keeler would eventually manage to create great leaps in Cherokee infrastructure and life, he did not promote Indian sovereignty in the late 1950s. Also, while serving as Chief, he did not endorse the radical change of the late 1960s and 1970s but instead promoted more conservative changes and equality. He actively supported education and welfare work among his people, stating “Indians should not be entitled to more rights than anybody else, but they should still have all the rights of everyone else.” He also advocated hard work of Indians as means to progress stating that “Indians cannot win friends by force and that militancy damages constructive causes.” In 1971 Keeler was democratically elected as Chief of the Cherokee Nation, this was the first democratic election of chief since 1903. Ross Swimmer—who followed Keeler as Chief after Keeler decided not to run for a second term—stated that Keeler “was the Cherokee tribe. He was the one who established the tribe and he did a lot of it with his own money and energy.”

Keeler also promoted and accomplished great infrastructure building in the Cherokee nation. The Cherokee owned several office Buildings including the Tribal Business Office, a BIA leased building, and a building housing education programs. He also created several Cherokee buildings targeted at industry building; such as a garment manufacturing company with Cherokee employees, the Cherokee Nation Builders Corporation (with Cherokee Indian construction crews), and skills training programs to assimilate to the new industrialized world as well as crafts and child care training for women at home. He also established a national Cherokee newspaper and oversaw the Tribal Housing Authority, which offered low cost housing to Cherokees. Keeler helped established the Cherokee Foundation and through legal legislation attained $14,789,000 from the federal government over land dispute. He also drafted a new Cherokee constitution in 1975 in his final year as chief.