Victoria Vazquez | |
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Deputy Speaker of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council | |
In office September 14, 2015 –August 29, 2024 | |
Preceded by | Janelle Fullbright |
Succeeded by | Kevin Easley Jr. |
Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilor for the 11th district | |
In office October 22,2013 –August 29,2024 | |
Preceded by | Chuck Hoskin Jr. |
Succeeded by | TBD |
Personal details | |
Citizenship | American Cherokee Nation |
Parent |
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Awards | Cherokee National Treasure |
Victoria Vazquez is a Cherokee Nation artist and politician who served on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council from 2013 to 2024. She was named a Cherokee National Treasure in 2012.
Victoria Mitchell was born to Anna Sixkiller Mitchell and Robert Clay Mitchell. Her mother was a Cherokee artist credited with reviving traditional Southeastern Woodlands-style pottery. Victoria was awarded a Smithsonian Native Arts Fellowship in 2005 and her work is displayed National Museum of the American Indian. She was named a Cherokee National Treasure in 2012 for her traditional pottery. [1] She worked as a self-employed potter and pottery teacher for twenty years before running for office. [2]
In August 2013, Chuck Hoskin Jr. resigned from the Cherokee Nation tribal council's 11th district seat to serve as the Nation's Secretary of State. Vazquez ran in the October special election for the seat against Dana Jim and Lana Morris Daugherty. [3] She won the special election and was sworn in on October 22, 2013. [4] [5] On September 14, 2015, she was sworn in as the deputy speaker of the Cherokee Nation tribal council after being elected by fellow councillors the month prior. [6] [7] She was re-elected without opposition in 2017 after her only opponent to file was disqualified by the Cherokee Nation Election Commission and sworn in for a second term on August 14. [8] She was re-elected deputy speaker of the tribal council on August 15, 2017. [9] In 2021 she won re-election with 63% of the vote beating Mike Purcell, Randy Junior White, and Mason Hudson. [10] She was re-elected as deputy speaker again in 2021. [11] She resigned on August 29, 2024. [12]
Joe Byrd was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1995 to 1999. Byrd is bilingual, with an ability to communicate in both Cherokee and English. He ran for re-election in 1999, but lost to Chad "Corntassel" Smith. He ran again in 2003, but again lost to the incumbent Smith.
Anna Mitchell was a Cherokee Nation potter who revived the historic art of Southeastern Woodlands pottery for Cherokee people in Oklahoma. Her tribe designated her as a Cherokee National Treasure and has works in numerous museum collections including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, among others.
Chuck Hoskin Jr. is a Cherokee Nation politician and attorney currently serving as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation since 2019. He was re-elected to a second term in the 2023 Cherokee Nation principal chief election.
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