Ross O. Swimmer is the Special Trustee for American Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Swimmer attended the University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

, where he received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees. While there, he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi

Alpha Sigma Phi

Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is a social fraternity with 71 active chapters and 9 colonies. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest fraternity in the United States....

 Fraternity.

He is an enrolled 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...

 and served as Principal Chief from 1975–1985, when he resigned to accept the position of Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs 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...

, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Pearl Mankiller was the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She served as principal chief for ten years from 1985 to 1995.-Early life:...

, Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation succeeded Swimmer as Chief of the Cherokees.

Swimmer served as president of the Cherokee Group, L.L.C., from 1995 until 2001. The Group is a consulting firm that represents Indian clients engaged in government issues at the state and federal level, and supports the development of businesses on Indian lands. He was also Of Counsel

Of counsel

Of counsel is often the title of an attorney who is employed by a law firm or an organization, but is not an associate or a partner. Some firms use titles like "counsel," "special counsel," and "senior counsel" for the same concept...

 to the Tulsa, Oklahoma, based law firm of Hall Estill, where his wife Margaret is a Partner.

Working with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...

 in New York, Swimmer created a self-help program for rural community development

Community development

Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....

.

On November 26, 2001, he was appointed by the Bush Administration

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 to be the Director of the Office of Indian Trust Transition, which is a Department of Interior office that is attempting to bring the Indian Trust accounting process up to minimum court-ordered standards (Cobell v. Kempthorne

Cobell v. Kempthorne

Cobell v. Salazar is a class-action lawsuit brought by Native American representatives against two departments of the United States government. The plaintiffs claim that the U.S...

).