Scott Bighorse | |
---|---|
Kiheka | |
Member of the Osage Nation Congress | |
Assumed office July 2018 | |
Principal Chief of the Osage Nation (interim) | |
In office 21 January 2014 –2 July 2014 | |
Preceded by | John Red Eagle |
Succeeded by | Geoffrey Standing Bear |
Assistant Principal Chief of the Osage Nation | |
In office 4 August 2010 –21 January 2014 | |
Preceded by | John Red Eagle |
Succeeded by | Terry Mason Moore |
Member of the OklahomaHouseofRepresentatives from the 36th district | |
In office 2006–2008 | |
Preceded by | Joe Sweeden |
Succeeded by | Eddie Fields |
Personal details | |
Born | 1956 (age 67–68) |
Nationality | American Osage Nation |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Pawhuska,Oklahoma |
Scott Norris Bighorse (born c. 1956) is an Osage American politician. Between 2006 and 2008,Bighorse was a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 36th district. From 2010 to 2014,he served as assistant principal chief of the Osage Nation. Bighorse was elevated to interim principal chief of the Osage Nation after the 2014 impeachment of John Red Eagle and replaced later that year by Geoffrey Standing Bear. Bighorse was elected to the Osage Nation Congress in 2018.
In the Osage language,Bighorse is known as Kiheka,translated to English as Big Chief. [1] Prior to his first campaign for public office,Bighorse worked for the Oklahoma state government for 24 years as a correctional officer and juvenile detention consultant. [2] [3] [4] [5] As a child,he had been inspired to participate in county and tribal politics by members of his family. Outside of his political activity and public service,Bighorse became known as a traditional singer. [6] [7]
Bighorse's first state legislative campaign was backed by the Indigenous Democratic Network. [8] In March 2006,he was the only Democratic Party candidate for the 36th district seat of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. [9] After Jack Rankin entered the race,Bighorse defeated him in a party primary election four months later. [10] [11] Bighorse subsequently faced Eddie Fields and won election to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in the November 2006 general election. [12] [13] In March 2007,he was named to the Native American Caucus of the Oklahoma Legislature,serving as spiritual counselor and as a member of the caucus's advisory team. [14] Bighorse ran for reelection in 2008,this time losing to Fields. [15] [16] Bighorse was the only incumbent state representative in Oklahoma to lose during the 2008 election cycle. [17]
Following his single term as a state representative,Bighorse began campaigning for the 2010 Osage Nation tribal election in August 2009. [4] The first round of the election was held on 7 June 2010. In a runoff election on 19 July 2010,he was elected assistant principal chief,and formally assumed the office on 4 August 2010,alongside principal chief John Red Eagle,who preceded him as assistant principal chief. [4] [18] Following Red Eagle's impeachment and removal from office in January 2014,Bighorse became principal chief. [2] [7] [19] Bighorse completed Red Eagle's term,choosing not to run for the office in his own right. Soon after becoming principal chief,Bighorse named Terry Mason Moore assistant principal chief. [20] Bighorse served as principal chief until Geoffrey Standing Bear assumed the role on 2 July 2014. [21] [22] [23] Bighorse took office as a member of the Osage Nation Congress in July 2018. [24] [25] He was reelected in 2022. [26]
Oklahoma is a state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west,Kansas to the north,Missouri to the northeast,Arkansas to the east,New Mexico to the west,and Colorado to the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South,it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla,'people' and humma,which translates as blood'. Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname,"The Sooner State",in reference to the Sooners,American settlers who staked their claims in formerly American Indian-owned lands until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 authorized the Land Rush of 1889 opening the land to settlement.
Osage County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Created in 1907 when Oklahoma was admitted as a state,the county is named for and is home to the federally recognized Osage Nation. The county is coextensive with the Osage Nation Reservation,established by treaty in the 19th century when the Osage relocated there from Kansas. The county seat is in Pawhuska,one of the first three towns established in the county. The total population of the county as of 2020 was 45,818.
Hominy is a city in Osage County,Oklahoma,United States. The population was 3,565 at the 2010 census,a 38 percent increase over the figure of 2,584 recorded in 2000.
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Fred Lookout was an Osage Nation politician who served several terms as the principal chief of the nation. Lookout served as principal chief three times:1913–1914,1916–1918,and from 1924 until his death in 1949.
Eddie Fields is an American politician from Oklahoma. A Republican,Fields served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2008 to 2010,and on the Oklahoma Senate between 2010 and 2018. He announced his unsuccessful candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 2018.
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The Osage Round House is a 16-sided structure used for Osage Ceremonial dances such as the Inlonska. It is the only such round house standing in Osage County,Oklahoma.
Geoffrey M. Standing Bear (Osage) is an attorney and politician who has served as Principal Chief of the Osage Nation since 2014.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma were held on November 8,2022,to elect the five U.S. representatives from the state of Oklahoma,one from each of the state's five congressional districts. The primary elections for the Republican. Democratic,and Libertarian parties' nominations took place on June 28,2022.
Gentner Frederick Drummond is an American attorney,rancher,banker,and politician from Oklahoma. Drummond is a member of the Republican Party and the current Attorney General of Oklahoma. He flew in the Gulf War air campaign during the Persian Gulf War,gaining national coverage for being one of the first American pilots interviewed during the war. He resides in the McBirney Mansion and is a member of the Oklahoma Drummond ranching family.
Arthur Bonnicastle was an Osage politician who served as the 8th elected principal chief of the Osage Nation from 1920 to 1922. Born in the Osage Nation,Indian Territory,Bonnicastle attended the Carlisle Indian School before enlisting in the United States Army in 1900. He served in the 9th Cavalry Regiment during the Boxer Rebellion and was discharged in 1903. After returning home,he entered tribal politics and served on the Osage Nation tribal council from 1908 to 1910 and 1922 until his death in 1923.
Paul Red Eagle was an Osage politician who served as the Principal Chief of the Osage Nation between 1923 and 1924 and as the assistant principal chief between 1916–1920 and 1922–1923.
John Denyer Red Eagle was an American Osage politician who served as the principal chief of the Osage Nation between June 2010 and his removal from office in January 2014. He also served as the assistant principal chief from 2006 to 2010.
Impeachment or removal from office is a mechanism for removing a government official from office. In Oklahoma,impeachment of state officials is governed by the Oklahoma Constitution and covers statewide elected officials. Removal from office is governed by statute and applies to other elected officials in the state.