On this episode I chatted with Governor Bill Anoatubby. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2004 and a fun fact. When Governor Anoatubby took office in 1987, the Chickasaw Nation included 250 employees and an $11 million operating budget. Twenty years later the tribe included nearly 4,500 employees and an annual budget approaching $300 million. 

Governor Bill Anoatubby grew up in Tishomingo where he attended Tishomingo High School, playing on the football team and graduating in 1964. He attended Murray State College and graduated from East Central State College (now East Central University) in 1972 before serving in the Oklahoma Army National Guard. He began working for the Chickasaw Nation as director of tribal health services in 1975, becoming Lieutenant Governor in 1979 and Governor in 1987. Anoatubby has been instrumental in the development of numerous businesses owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation and under his leadership the tribe was the first to successfully compact for its own health system. Anoatubby became a member and leader of the inter-tribal council of the Five Civilized Tribes since 1978, remaining active in a wide range of organizations including the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Interior, Leadership Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. He is also the longtime chairman of the Native American Cultural and Educational Authority.

For more information on the Chickasaw Nation go to: 

https://chickasaw.net

This episode is presented by the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, telling Oklahoma's story through its people since 1927. For more information on the Oklahoma Hall of Fame go to www.oklahomahof.com or follow them on instagram for daily updates www.instagram.com./oklahomahof 

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