James Edward Billie known as (“Chief Jim Billie”) (born March 20, 1944) is a Native American Indian leader of the Seminole Tribe of Florida

Seminole Tribe of Florida

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Seminole tribe based in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, it is one of three federally recognized Seminole entities...

.[1] Elected Chairman/President of the Independent Seminole Tribe of Florida in 1979-2001. Deposed in a coup in 2003, he was re-elected Chairman in a landslide victory on 6/2011.[2]
In 2005 Sarasota Magazine called Chief Billie “the most powerful American Indian leader of the past century.”[5] Best known for winning the legal battles from the federal government[6] that ushered prosperity to Native American Nations through casino gambling.[7]; one of his songs was nominated for a Grammy[8] ,

Biography

Born in poverty at a Dania, Florida  roadside tourist attraction. Survived euthanasia shortly after birth at the hands of local medicine men. Because of his mixed Seminole/anglo heritage they stole him from his mother to sacrifice him by the river. The intervention of Betty Mae Tiger Jumper

Betty Mae Tiger Jumper

Betty Mae Tiger Jumper was the first female chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.-Life:Betty Mae Tiger Jumper was born on April 27, 1923, in a Seminole camp near Indiantown, Florida. She grew up in Dania, in Broward County. At night Betty Tiger listened as older members of the tribe told stories...

 , a respected Seminole clan leader saved his life. His formative years were spent in the heart of the Seminole Nation learning “the Indian ways”. He would catch alligators from the swamp and wrestle them in tourist shows to earn money for his family. Orphaned by the age of nine (his mother Agnes passed away, his father absent from his life) He was cared for by several families in his clan with whom he remains very close. A Viet Nam war veteran he enlisted in the army in 1965 and served in specialized units engaged in commando operations. He sings about this experience in the song “Buzzard dance”.[13]

Career

Elected Chairman of the tribe in 1979, he put a plan in motion that engineered the concept of Indian Gaming. That year the sum total of all the tribe’s net worth was less than $500 thousand dollars, by 2011 it is estimated to be in the billions of dollars and growing, thanks to the acquisition of the Hard Rock franchise, a worldwide consortium of restaurants, hotels and casinos. During Florida’s “cocaine cowboy” days he used his military training to organize the Seminole self defense force that patrolled the Florida Everglades

Everglades

The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...

 and hunted down cocaine pilots who used isolated roads in the Seminole Nation as improvised airstrips. That force became the Seminole Tribe’s police force. He is the CEO of the Micco Aircraft Company[18] based in Oklahoma, manufacturers of a line of recreational aircraft. He is an expert Chickee

Chickee

Chikee or Chickee is a shelter supported by posts, with a raised floor, a thatched roof and open sides. The chickee style of architecture — palmetto thatch over a bald cypress log frame — was adopted by Seminoles during the Second and Third Seminole War as U.S...

builder, and was nominated for a Grammy for his song “Big Alligator”.[20] He plays “folk-rock” with his band “The Shack Daddies” A kind of music he playfully calls swamp-rock. In 1997 he was named a judge in the Miss Universe Pageant.[21] He lives in Florida near the shores of Lake Okeechobee[22] Lands of the Seminole Nation.

Chronology

• 1944: Born Dania, Fl
• 1953: His mother Agnes Billie dies
• 1958: Begins to wrestle alligators and milk poisonous snakes to entertain tourists.
• 1965: Joins U.S. Army
• 1979: Elected Chairman Independent Seminole Nation of Florida
• 1979: Claiming Sovereign rights he legalizes gambling in Seminole territories
• 1980: Seminoles open their first “Indian Gaming” operation.
• 1980: The State of Florida takes the tribe to court over their gambling operations
• 1981: U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of Seminoles. “Indian Gaming” expands.
• 1982: Other tribes follow the Seminoles and open their own casinos.
• 1998: Releases first music album. “Alligator Tales” with The “Shack Daddies” band.
• 1999: Nominated for a Grammy for his song “Big Alligator”
• 1999: Outstanding Music Achievement award. First American in Arts Council
• 1999: Native American Music Award names Chief Billie a Living Legend for his music
• 2000: Loses his right ring finger wrestling alligator
• 2001: Chairman Billie illegally suspended from Seminole Council.
• 2003: Chairman Billie expelled from ruling council
• 2003: Is awarded $600 thousand dollars in due compensation by the Seminole Council.
• 2005: Named CEO Micco Aircraft Inc.
• 2006: Seminoles purchase Hard Rock chain for $965 million U.S.
• 2011: Chief Jim Billie re-elected Chairman of the tribe in landslide victory.