W. W. Keeler

William Wayne Keeler
Born	Template:Birth date Dalhart, Texas, U.S.
Died	August 24, 1987(1987-08-24) (aged 79) Bartlesville, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Engineer, oil industry executive, tribal leader
Known for	Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation; CEO of Phillips Petroleum Company

William Wayne Keeler (April 5, 1908 – August 24, 1987) was a distinguished American engineer, oil industry executive, and tribal leader. He holds the distinction of being both the final appointed and the inaugural elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation during the 20th century. Trained as a chemical engineer, Keeler built his career at Phillips Petroleum Company, where he ultimately rose to the position of CEO. In addition to his corporate achievements, he played significant roles within federal agencies dedicated to promoting Native American affairs. In 1949, President Truman appointed him as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. From 1939 through 1972, he also chaired the executive committee for the Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands. Notably, in 1971, Keeler became the first Cherokee chief elected by popular vote since 1903.

Keeler was instrumental in founding vital tribal organizations such as the Cherokee Nation Builders Corporation and a nationwide Cherokee newspaper. He contributed to establishing the Cherokee Foundation and was pivotal in securing $14 million in federal compensation related to a land claim dispute. Furthermore, he led efforts to draft a revised Cherokee constitution in 1975.

Early life and education

Keeler possessed one-thirty-second Cherokee blood. Both of his grandfathers—George B. Keeler and Nelson F. Carr—were white settlers who married into the Cherokee community and were among the founders of what is now Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Carr operated local milling businesses, while George Keeler played a role in drilling Oklahoma’s first oil well.

His parents, William and Sarah Louisa Carr, were themselves of Cherokee heritage. Born in Dalhart, Texas during a cattle trading trip, Keeler spent his childhood in Bartlesville. Of his siblings, only he and his sister Blanche survived infancy; Blanche later wed Kenneth S. "Boots" Adams, president of Phillips Petroleum (their marriage ended in divorce in 1945). Raised partly under the guidance of his grandmother who instilled traditional Cherokee values, Keeler also encountered his mother’s encouragement toward assimilation into mainstream white culture.

Beginning at age sixteen, he worked summers on Phillips Petroleum construction projects while attending public schools in Bartlesville and later pursuing higher education. He earned a chemical engineering degree from the University of Kansas in 1930.

Career at Phillips Petroleum Company

Before completing his degree, Keeler secured a full-time engineering role at Phillips’ Kansas City, Kansas refinery. During this period, he met Ruby Lucille Hamilton—a nursing school graduate from Kansas City, Missouri—with whom he married in 1933; they had two sons while residing there. In 1939, he was reassigned as chief chemist at Phillips’ Borger refinery in Texas and relocated to Bartlesville two years later where their youngest son was born. Throughout World War II, Keeler oversaw construction of a Phillips refinery facility in Mexico and subsequently advanced to manager of Phillips’ refining division based in Bartlesville.

Despite widespread discrimination against Native Americans within predominantly white corporate environments, Keeler progressed steadily at Phillips Petroleum. After nearly five decades with the company, he attained the role of CEO in 1968 and remained until reaching mandatory retirement age in 1973. His tenure attracted attention from federal officials who recognized his exceptional accomplishments as a Native American leader within the petroleum sector.

Federal career

In 1948, Keeler was appointed vice chairman of the executive committee for the Cherokee tribe. After the passing of Principal Chief J. B. Milam in 1949, President Truman designated Keeler as Chief, a decision supported by both the Cherokee National Council and Oklahoma's congressional representatives. He maintained the administrative approach established by Milam and received subsequent reappointments from Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, serving in this role until 1975. Between 1945 and 1972, Keeler led the executive committee of the Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands, actively advocating before the Indian Claims Commission regarding the 1836 Treaty of Bowles Village.

During President Johnson's administration, Keeler contributed to the National Advisory Committee for the War on Poverty initiative as well as the President's Committee on Economic Opportunity. He was also appointed by Alaska’s Governor Walter Hickel to chair a task force dedicated to enhancing native employment opportunities. Additionally, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall entrusted him with leading efforts to restructure the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Despite his achievements in business and federal service, Keeler’s conservative background stood in contrast to more radical Native American activists; for instance, Indian activist Clyde Warrior derisively referred to him as "a little brown American."

Cherokee Nation

Keeler is recognized as one of the most prominent leaders of the Cherokee Nation since John Ross. Rather than embracing the radical transformations characteristic of the late 1960s and 1970s, he advocated for measured conservative reforms centered on equality, education, and social welfare. He maintained that Native Americans deserved equal rights without special privileges and promoted diligence and self-reliance over militant activism as pathways to advancement. In 1971, he became the first democratically elected Chief of the Cherokee Nation since 1903. His successor, Ross Swimmer, remarked that Keeler "was the Cherokee tribe" due to his deep personal dedication.

Under Keeler’s stewardship, the Cherokee Nation expanded its physical infrastructure, acquiring several office buildings including a Tribal Business Office leased from the BIA and facilities dedicated to educational programs. He launched enterprises such as a garment manufacturing firm employing Cherokee workers and established the Cherokee Nation Builders Corporation utilizing tribal construction crews. Keeler also developed vocational training initiatives focused on industrial skills, crafts, and childcare services for women. He founded a nationwide Cherokee newspaper and administered the Tribal Housing Authority to facilitate affordable housing solutions. Through legal advocacy, he secured $14.8 million in federal payments related to land claims and oversaw the creation of a new Cherokee constitution in 1975.

Death and legacy

In 1966, Keeler was honored with induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. He passed away on August 24, 1987, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma after experiencing several years of deteriorating health.

The W. W. Keeler Complex in Tahlequah, Oklahoma—home to the Cherokee tribal government—bears his name and accommodates both executive and legislative offices.

Sources

• Cobb, Daniel M. (2008). Native Activism in Cold War America. United Press of Kansas.
• Gridley, Marion E. (1972). Contemporary American Indian Leaders. Cornwall Press, Inc. New York.
• House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Disposition of Judgment Funds of the Cherokee Nation or Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. 87 H.R. 11590. June 19, 1962.
• Ingham, John N. Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders. "Adams, Kenneth Stanley." (1983) Greenwood Press. (v. 1). Available on Google Books.
• Monney, James. (1975). A Historical Sketch of the Cherokee. Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago.
• Wallis, Michael. Oil Man: The Story Of Frank Phillips & The Birth of Phillips Petroleum. (1995) St. Martin's Press. . Available on Google Books.