Gregory E. Pyle is a leader of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland comprising twelve tribal districts. The Choctaw Nation maintains a special relationship with both the United States and Oklahoma governments...

. He was elected as principal chief in 1997 and served until 2011. He has Choctaw, Cherokee and European ancestry.

Early life

Gregory Eli Pyle was born in Fort Bragg, California

Fort Bragg, California

Fort Bragg is a city located in coastal Mendocino County, California along State Route 1, the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. Fort Bragg is located west of Willits, at an elevation of 85 feet...

. He is the son of Alvin Smith Pyle Sr., (born 1928 in Antlers

Antlers, Oklahoma

Antlers is a city in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. The population was 2,552 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pushmataha County.-Geography:Antlers is located at...

, Pushmataha, Oklahoma) and Juanita Ishcomer Pyle, (born 1928 in McCurtain County, Oklahoma

McCurtain County, Oklahoma

McCurtain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 33,151. Its county seat is Idabel.-Geography:...

). He has two brothers and one sister. The family journeyed back and forth from California to Oklahoma during his childhood, finally moving to Hugo, Oklahoma

Hugo, Oklahoma

Hugo is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, bordering Texas. Hugo is the county seat for Choctaw County and has a population of 5,395 as of 2009 estimates. The city serves as winter quarters for some circus performers...

, permanently in about 1960.

Pyle is the grandson of Colberson Ishcomer (born 1901) in Oklahoma and Edna Sherfield born 1912 in McCurtain Co, Oklahoma). Colberson is full-blood Choctaw. Pyle's grandmother, Edna, is thought to have been part-Cherokee. He is a direct descendant of Conrad "Coonrod" Pile of Fentress County, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 and is related to the famous World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 hero, Sgt. Alvin York

Alvin York

Alvin Cullum York was one of the most decorated American soldiers in World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 32 machine guns, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132 others...

.

Pyle graduated from Hugo High School in May of 1967. From there he went to Murray State College

Murray State College

Murray State College, is a public, co-educational community college located in southeastern Oklahoma with the main campus located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. The college is named in honor of former Oklahoma Governor William H...

, then to Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Southeastern Oklahoma State University, often referred to as Southeastern and abbreviated as SE, or SOSU, is a public university located in Durant, Oklahoma, with an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 4,229 as of 2009.-History:...

, graduating from there in July of 1972, with a B.S. in business, and a minor in psychology. At Southeastern, he was initiated as a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon

Tau Kappa Epsilon

Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

 fraternity

Fraternities and sororities

Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...

. In 2007 he was inducted into the TKE Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

Marriage and family

Pyle married Pat Baker, in September of 1971. They have two children, Andrea and Eric. Chief Pyle and the First Lady make their home in Durant, Oklahoma

Durant, Oklahoma

Durant is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 15,877 at the 2010 census. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 42,416 in 2010...

, home of the Choctaw Nation Headquarters. Pat Baker Pyle had taught at Durant High School.

Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Chief Pyle was sworn in June 9, 1997 as Chief of the Choctaw Nation. Pyle served as Assistant Chief for fourteen years, spending a substantial part of his time in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 working on legislation that affects Native Americans. He has promised to see that all Congressional actions continue to be closely monitored and that the tribe has a direct input into all legislative acts that affect Choctaws.

Pyle has worked closely with the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...

 and the Indian Health Service

Indian Health Service

Indian Health Service is an Operating Division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . IHS is responsible for providing medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Natives...

. He will continue to do so, maintaining current programs, and searching for additional service programs.

Pyle has served the Choctaw Nation since 1975. He was elected by popular vote, along with Chief Belvin, to the Agriculture Board, to oversee the Choctaw Nation Ranch at Tushka Homma

Tuskahoma, Oklahoma

Tuskahoma is a community in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, four miles east of Clayton, Oklahoma.-History:A United States Post Office was established at Tushka Homma, Indian Territory on February 27, 1884. On October 28, 1891, the spelling changed to Tushkahomma. On December 6, 1910 the...

.

Public service

• 1982-Hired as Personnel Officer
• 1982-Appointed to Arkansas Riverbed Board
• 1983–became Tribal Program Monitor to oversee and assure contract compliance of all federally funded programs being run by the tribe.
• Testified before Congress for the Arkansas Riverbed case, which was won by the Choctaw, Cherokee and Chickasaw nations.
• Elected as Assistant Chief of the Choctaw Nation
• Appointed by Secretary of Interior Manuel Lujan to serve on a national Task Force to reorganize the Bureau of Indian Affairs
  Bureau of Indian Affairs
  The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
  
  . Two years later reappointed by Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt and headed up several subcommittees on the Task Force.
• 1994 – Appointed to the Inter Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes
  Five Civilized Tribes
  The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
  
   during the past fourteen years.
• 1996 – Served as the President of the Oklahoma Area Health Board and was also a member of the National Health Board.
• 1997 – Served on Board of Directors of Landmark Bank and Durant
  Durant, Oklahoma
  Durant is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 15,877 at the 2010 census. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 42,416 in 2010...
  
  Chamber of Commerce.

Legacy and honors

• 2006 - Inducted into the Tau Kappa Epsilon Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
• 2007 - Inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.