William Wayne "Bill" Keeler (April 5, 1908 – August 24, 1987) was appointed principal chief of the Cherokee nation in 1949 by President Truman, and served as appointed chief until 1971, when the Cherokee regained their right to elect their own leaders in a congressional act passed by President Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

. Keeler was democratically elected in 1971, and remained chief until 1975, when he endorsed Ross Swimmer

Ross Swimmer

Ross O. Swimmer is the Special Trustee for American Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Swimmer attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees...

 in his campaign for principal chief.

Keeler was CEO of Phillips Petroleum

Phillips Petroleum

Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 by L.E. Phillips and Frank Phillips, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Their younger brother Waite Phillips was the benefactor of Philmont Scout Ranch....

 in his native Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Bartlesville is a city in Osage and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 43,070 at the 2010 census. Bartlesville is located forty-seven miles north of Tulsa and very close to Oklahoma's northern border with Kansas. It is the county seat of Washington County, in...

.