Billy Joe Anoatubby (born November 8, 1945) is the 32nd Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a position he has held since 1987. From 1979 to 1987, Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in the administration of Governor Overton James, after being popularly elected to office.[1] He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Bill Anoatubby
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| 32nd Governor of the Chickasaw Nation | |
| Assumed office October 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Overton James |
| 1st Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation | |
| In office 1979–1987 | |
| Governor | Overton James |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Kennedy Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Billy Joe Anoatubby (1945-11-08) November 8, 1945 (age 78) Denison, Texas, U.S. |
| Nationality | American Chickasaw Nation |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Janice Loman (m. 1967) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Murray State College East Central University (BS) Southeastern Oklahoma State University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1963–1971 |
| Rank | Staff sergeant |
| Unit | Oklahoma Army National Guard |
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Anoatubby was born in Denison, Texas, the youngest of six children of Opal Faye (née Mitchell; 1912–2006) and Joseph Morris Anoatubby (1906–1948).[2][3][4] After his father died, his widowed mother moved the family to Tishomingo, Oklahoma, the first Chickasaw capital.[5] In 1964, Anoatubby graduated from Tishomingo High School, where he played football and was active in student government.
He attended Murray State College in Tishomingo, before transferring to East Central UniversityinAda, where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting. Anoatubby undertook additional studies in business and finance at ECU and Southeastern Oklahoma State UniversityinDurant, Oklahoma.[6] During his college years, he also served in the Oklahoma Army National Guard. He attained the rank of staff sergeant and command of a light truck platoon, before his honorable discharge in 1971.[1]
From 1972 to 1974, Anoatubby was employed as an office manager for American Plating Company. From 1974 to 1975, he was employed by the Little Giant Corporation, working in the areas of accounting, budgeting, financial analysis, and electronic data processing.[1]
In July 1975, Anoatubby was hired by the Chickasaw Nation government, then based in Sulphur, Oklahoma, to serve as Director of Tribal Health Services. He managed tribal health programs in a 13-county region of South Central Oklahoma.
The following year, he accepted appointment as director of the tribal accounting department, where he was responsible for development and improvement of tribal accounting systems. In 1978, he was appointed as special assistant to the governor and controller. He provided program and personnel management, including supervision of tribal department directors. The following year, Anoatubby was popularly elected as the first Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, serving with Governor Overton James. He was re-elected alongside James for a second four-year term in 1983.[1]
In 1987, Anoatubby was elected as the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, the twelfth-largest tribe in the United States. This began the 32nd administration of Chickasaw Governors and he is the 22nd person to serve in the office.[7] He is now serving his 10th consecutive term in office, having been reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023; on five occasions he faced no opposition.[8][9][10]
As governor, he administers all the Nation's programs and businesses and, indirectly its more than 13,500 employees. There are more than 200 tribal programs and services, and more than 100 tribal businesses. Anoatubby has devised a multi-pronged approach to improving conditions for the tribe in the areas of tribal finance, education, business and economic development, environmental protection, and healthcare.[11]
Anoatubby has been described as a modest, almost self-effacing politician who seems happy to share the credit for the Nation's successes.[12] He has achieved the following:
Anoatubby decided to run for national office in the 1998 election, he sought the Democratic Party nomination for the 3rd District U.S. House seat. At the time the district took in territory in the rural southeastern region of the state, including the area historically reserved for the Choctaw Nation, and some of the lands belonging to the Chickasaw and Muscogee Creek nations. After the Civil War, following strong migration by European Americans from the South, this area was later also known as "Little Dixie."[15]
Anoatubby placed third in the four-candidate field in the Democratic primary.[16] Following his defeat, he endorsed state senator Darryl Roberts, who eventually won the Democratic nomination. But Roberts was defeated by the Republican incumbent, Wes Watkins, who won re-election at a time of shifting political alliances by people in the state. (In 2003, the 3rd congressional district was totally redefined as taking in territory in the northwest part of the state rather than the southeast.)
In 2014, Anoatubby was mentioned as a possible candidate for the U.S. Senate special election that year to replace Tom Coburn, but he decided not to run.[17]
Despite being a Democrat, Anoatubby endorsed conservative Republican and fellow Chickasaw T. W. Shannon in the 2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma.[18]
In addition to serving as governor, Anoatubby has been a member of numerous civic and governmental organizations at the local, state, regional and national levels. As of June 2018, he has served as member and past president of the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes, the American Mothers Advisory Council, the American Indian Cultural Center Foundation, the Arkansas Riverbed Authority, the Dean A. McGee Board of Trustees, Murray State College Foundation, past chairman of the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center Board of Advisors, chairman of the Native American Cultural and Educational Foundation, the Oklahoma Business Roundtable Executive Committee, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Board of Directors, Oklahoma State Fair, Inc. Board of Directors, Oklahoma Hall of Fame Board of Directors, Oklahoman's for the Arts Board of Directors, OU Price School of Business Board of Advisors, Task Force on the Future of Higher Education, and the Goddard Center Primary Board.[19]
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Anoatubby was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2004.[20] In 2017, he was awarded the Harland C. Stonecipher Award for Entrepreneurial Vision, the James R. Tollbert III Crystal Orchid Award, the World Experiences Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in Global Citizenship, and the Lee B. Brawner Lifetime Achievement Award.
Awards and honors include:
Anoatubby lives in Ada, Oklahoma with his wife, the former Janice Marie Loman, who he married in December 1967.[21] They have two sons, Chris, who was elected in 2019 as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation on a ticket with his father, and Brian. Chris and his wife Becky have three children, while Brian and his wife Melinda have two children.[22]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governor of the Chickasaw Nation 1987–present |
Incumbent |