ANADARKO — Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at Indian City for the speaker of the Kiowa Tribe’s legislature.
Angela Chaddlesone McCarthy died of COVID-19 Thursday afternoon at Oklahoma City’s Deaconess Integris Hospital after more than a month in the facility’s intensive care unit. She was 49 years old.
McCarthy is survived by her mother, three sisters, seven children and six grandchildren.
A resident of Anadarko, McCarthy was elected to the Kiowa Tribe’s legislature in 2018. She announced on Facebook in mid-August that she had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Prior to her diagnosis, McCarthy was a vocal advocate for $1,000 CARES Act payments to each member of the Kiowa Tribe. Along with other members of the Kiowa legislature, she filed suit against Chairman Matthew Komalty in the Southern Plains Court of Indian Offenses over the tribe’s CARES Act spending plan. Related impeachment proceedings are still pending against Komalty and have been paused due to a temporary restraining order.
In a statement, Chairman Komalty acknowledged McCarthy’s zest for her tribe and helping her neighbors.
“Her passion for her people and love for the tribe will not be forgotten. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.”
As of Monday, no decisions have been announced regarding a special election to fill the now vacant District No. 1 seat or the role of speaker.
The Kiowa legislature’s district No. 1 stretches from the Washita River south to State Highway 19 and from U.S. Highway 81 to U.S. Highway 281.