His retirement was unexpected.
Governor Bill Anoatubby, the leader of the Chickasaw Nation, announced just a few days ago that he was stepping down as the leader of his tribe.
Reelected in 2023, he’s held the post for 39 years.
Articulate, politically astute, and deeply caring for his tribal nation, Anoatubby has seen the Chickasaw Nation grow and prosper over the past three decades. He’s fought his share of political battles and, at the same time, worked to ensure his tribe had the necessary resources to expand.
Bill Anoatubby isn’t your typical political leader. He doesn’t scare. He isn’t one of those leaders who uses threats, bullying or namecalling to deal with those who disagree.
Consider this: More than a decade ago, the Choctaw and the Chickasaw Nations were involved in a long-running dispute with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, the City of Oklahoma City and state officials about a plan by Oklahoma City to lay a water pipeline to Sardis Lake.
Oklahoma City said it needed to expand to ensure it had plenty of water for the future. The problem was that expansion involved pipelines and Sardis Lake – both in tribal land.
Anoatubby and Greg Pyle, the leader of the Choctaws at the time, offered to work with Oklahoma City and even help with the costs. What the state didn’t want to talk about was the fact a federal judge ordered Oklahoma City to finally – after decades – pay a bill to the Army Corps of Engineers.
Pushed because of a past-due bill, Oklahoma City and the state needed money to pay the Army’s bill. And even though the tribes offered to help solve the problem, that offer was turned away.
Neither the Water Resources Board nor other state officials wanted input from the tribes – even though the project ran through tribal land.
Anoatubby and other tribal leaders were not surprised by this. Instead of cowering or running away, they turned to federal court.
Their goal was simple: the tribes wanted a seat at the table involving water issues in southeastern Oklahoma.
State officials and the City of Oklahoma City were sure they would get their way. Tribal leaders said they simply wanted to be involved.
When the court finally ruled – after both the city and the state spent millions on water attorneys – the court ruled in favor of the tribes and the tribes got their seat at the table.
Anoatubby didn’t gloat. He didn’t preach. He simply worked to make sure that the issues involving his tribe and those of the Choctaws were included in the negotiations about Sardis Lake.
Today, years after that fight, the tribal nation remains actively involved in the allocation of natural resources in southeastern Oklahoma.
The reason – Bill Anoatubby.
Focused, smart and blessed with a deep political understanding of this state, Bill Anoatubby kept his tribe strong and focused for the past four decades. Now he’s earned his time off and his retirement.
And at the same time, he’s set a standard for others to follow. Anoatubby’s retirement wasn’t expected but it has most certainly been earned.
He will be missed.
M. Scott Carter is an award-winning political and investigative reporter with more than 40 years’ experience covering federal and state government and politics in Oklahoma. He can be reached at scott.carter@swoknews.com.