residence predecessor successor children birth_place profession office birth_date term_start spouse article_title term_end name alma_mater
tulsa , oklahoma w.w. keeler wilma mankiller 2 oklahoma city , oklahoma businessman principal chief of the cherokee nation 26 october 1943 1975 margaret swimmer ross swimmer
 1985 ross swimmer university of oklahoma
ross swimmer

ross o. swimmer -lrb- b. october 26 , 1943 -rrb- is the special trustee for american indians at the u.s. department of the interior .
swimmer attended the university of oklahoma , where he received both his bachelor of arts and juris doctor degrees .
while there , he was a member of alpha sigma phi fraternity .
he is an enrolled member of the cherokee nation and served as principal chief from 1975 -- 1985 , when he resigned to accept the position of assistant secretary of indian affairs with the bureau of indian affairs , a bureau within the u.s. department of the interior .
wilma mankiller , deputy chief of the cherokee nation succeeded swimmer as chief of the cherokees .
swimmer served as president of the cherokee group , l.l.c. , from 1995 until 2001 .
the group is a consulting firm that represents indian clients engaged in government issues at the state and federal level , and supports the development of businesses on indian lands .
he was also of counsel to the tulsa , oklahoma , based law firm of hall estill , where his wife margaret is a partner .
working with the rensselaer polytechnic institute in new york , swimmer created a self-help program for rural community development .
on november 26 , 2001 , he was appointed by the bush administration to be the director of the office of indian trust transition , which is a department of interior office that is attempting to bring the indian trust accounting process up to minimum court-ordered standards -lrb- `` cobell v. kempthorne '' -rrb- .
