Question: William Buffalo Tiger was tribal chairman of a nation of indians that were part of what nation until the mid-20th century before being independent?

Context articles: Earl Old Person
Richard Arthur Hayward
State recognized tribes in the United States
Golden Checkerboard
Paula Peters
Miccosukee
Tex G. Hall
Derek Bailey (tribal chairman)
Mark Solomon (Māori leader)
Buffalo Tiger

Earl Old Person (born 1929), also named Cold Wind or Charging Home, is an American Indian political leader and the chief of the Blackfeet tribe in Montana, United States.
 Old Person became a member of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council in 1954 and served as tribal chairman from 1964 to 2008.
 He has also served as president of the National Congress of American Indians.
Richard Arthur Hayward (born November 28, 1947 in New London, Connecticut) also known as Skip Hayward, was the tribal chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe for 23 years, from 1975, when the first election was held, until November 1, 1998.
 He was replaced by Kenneth M. Reels.
 Before becoming the tribal chairman, he worked as a pipefitter and lived in Stonington, Connecticut.
 In 1994 University of Connecticut awarded him an honorary degree.
State recognized tribes are Native American Indian Tribes, Nations, and Heritage Groups that have been recognized by a process established under assorted state laws for varying purposes.
 With increasing activism by tribal nations since the mid-20th century to obtain federal recognition of their tribal sovereignty, many states have passed legislation to recognize some tribes and acknowledge the self-determination and continuity of historic ethnic groups.
 The majority of these groups are located in the Eastern US, as is the case with the three largest state-recognized tribes: viz.
 the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the United Houma Nation of Louisiana.
Golden Checkerboard (1965) is a book by Ed Ainsworth.
 Its subject matter concerns the mid-20th century economic conditions of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of Palm Springs, California, and the history of the 99-year lease law which enabled them to commercially develop tribal owned lands.
 It focuses on Indio Superior Court Judge Hilton McCabe, who is described as "The Little White Father of the Indians of Palm Springs", and recalls the steps taken by McCabe to set up conservatorships and leases that would give the tribe investment opportunities and economic self-sufficiency.
 The title of the book refers to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians' reservation checkerboard pattern, originating from land grants to the Southern Pacific Railroad as an incentive to build rail lines through the region, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed an Executive Order granting "San Bernardino Base and Meridian, Township 4 South, Range 4 East, Section 14" to the Agua Caliente Indians.
Paula Peters is a journalist, educator and activist.
 A member of the Wampanoag tribe, she has spent most of her life in her tribal homeland of Mashpee, Massachusetts.
 She hails from a prominent Mashpee Wampanoag family, including Tribal Chairman Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters (her father), and was active in the tribe's long and contested push for federal recognition.
 In a 2006 interview with NPR, Peters recalled a time when "nobody in Washington cared much about which tribes were recognized."
 Like her father before her, Peters served on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council.
 In 2005, she ran against Glenn Marshall for Council Chairperson.
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida.
 They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving federal recognition in 1962.
 The Miccosukee speak the Mikasuki language, which is mutually intelligible with the Hitchiti language, is considered its dialect, and is also spoken by many Florida Seminole.
Tex G. Hall (“Ihbudah Hishi” “Red Tipped Arrow”), (born 18 September 1956) is a Native American who was tribal chairman of Three Affiliated Tribes from 1998 to 2006.
 He lost the 2006 election to Marcus Levings, but in the 2010 tribal election, Hall defeated Levings.
 He ran for the position of President of the National Congress of American Indians in 2001 and won his campaign at the annual convention in Spokane, Washington over Chairman Brian Wallance of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada.
 Tex was reelected in 2003 at the annual convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico over Ernie Stensgar, Chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho.
Derek J. Bailey (born 1972) served as Tribal Chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) beginning in 2008.
 He also served prior on Tribal Council from 2004-2008.
 On October 1, 2011, Bailey announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Michigan's 1st congressional district.
 During April 2012, Bailey ended his Congressional campaign effort and moved into Michigan's State House race for the 101st District (Leelanau, Benzie, Manistee and Mason counties).
 On May 11, 2015, he was arrested on child molestation charges.Bailey was sentenced to 25 to 50 years after being found guilty in Grand Traverse County of two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct in April 2016.
 He was also sentenced to 10 to 15 years after being found guilty in Leelanau County of two counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct in November 2015.
 Bailey will serve his sentence concurrently.
 Bailey has a credit of 360 days.
Sir Mark Wiremu Solomon {'1': ", '2': ", '3': ", '4': "} (born 1954) is a well known Māori leader and previous Māori tribal Chairman.
 He identifies with the Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Kurī (Kaikōura) iwi.
 Sir Mark was the kaiwhakahaere (chairperson) of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the tribal council of Ngāi Tahu, for approximately 18 years, from 1998 until December 2016.
 His departure as tribal Chair followed his decision in April 2016 to no longer stand for election as the tribal representative for Kaikoura.
William Buffalo Tiger ("Heenehatche"; March 6, 1920 – January 6, 2015 in Kendall, Florida) (Miccosukee) was a political leader of the tribal nation based in the Everglades area of Florida.
 He served as the first elected tribal chairman from 1962 to 1985, and before that was head of the General Council from 1957 and a chief.
 His activism led to political organization of the Miccosukee and their gaining federal recognition in 1962 as an independent Native American tribe.
 They wrote a constitution to govern their people.