Kimberly Teehee is the current senior policy adviser for Native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 affairs in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

. Her appointment was announced on June 15, 2009.

Background and education

A member of the Cherokee Nation

Cherokee Nation

The Cherokee Nation is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who...

, she was born in Chicago, Illinois but grew up in Claremore, Oklahoma

Claremore, Oklahoma

Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,581 at the 2010 census, a 17.1 percent increase from 15,873 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and home to Rogers State University...

, where she and her family are fluent Cherokee language

Cherokee language

Cherokee is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people which uses a unique syllabary writing system. It is the only Southern Iroquoian language that remains spoken. Cherokee is a polysynthetic language.-North American etymology:...

 speakers.

Teehee is a graduate of Northeastern State University

Northeastern State University

Northeastern State University is a public university with its main campus located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, United States, at the foot of the Ozark Mountains. Northeastern's home, Tahlequah, is also the capital of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma...

, where she graduated cum laude with a bachelors degree in Political Science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 in 1991. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Iowa College of Law

University of Iowa College of Law

The University of Iowa College of Law is one of the eleven professional graduate schools at the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest law school in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. The law school was ranked as the 27th best law school...

 in 1995. She was awarded a Bureau of National Affairs

Bureau of National Affairs

The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. — known as BNA — is an independent, privately owned publisher of specialized online and print news and information for professionals in business and government, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, USA...

 Award.

Career

Teehee served as the first deputy director of Native American Outreach for the Democratic National Committee

Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...

 and director of Native American outreach for President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

's 1997 inaugaration. She then served as an advisor to Democratic Congressman Dale Kildee of Michigan.

In the Obama administration she serves on the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

 Domestic Policy Council

United States Domestic Policy Council

The Domestic Policy Council of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering domestic policy matters, excluding economic matters, which are the domain of the National Economic Council...

. Beginning July 2009, she assumed the new position of senior policy advisor for Native American Affairs and advises the president about issues pertaining to Indian Country.