John yellowbird steele biography of christopher

Past president of the Oglala Sioux tribe

John Yellow Bird Steele is an American politician. He was the President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe for 14 years.^[1][2] Akim Reinhardt described him as "arguably the most successful Pine Ridge politician of the IRA era".^[3]

Career

Between 1992 and 2016, Steele served seven non-consecutive two-year terms as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.^[1] Prior to serving as president, he served as vice-president for two terms, and as a tribal council representative.

He has also served as an advocate for the Black Hills Treaty Council.^[4]

Elections

Despite Steele's record-setting seven terms, he has only won re-election once, in 2002.^[5] Many times, he was defeated when seeking re-election, only to defeat his successor in the next election (or, as in 2006, to defeat the person serving out the rest of his successor's term).

Steele was first elected presiden John Yellow Bird Steele - Wikipedia POVIS