Barbara Ann Starr Scott (May 19, 1939 – December 6, 2020) was a Cherokee politician who served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council for district 5 from 1983 to 1987 and 1995 to 1999.

Life

Starr Scott was born on May 19, 1939, in Claremore, Oklahoma, to Lacy Fallingpot-Starr and Buelah Benton Hendren Fallingpot-Starr. She was the second of five children and spent her early years in Eucha. In 1952, the construction of

Lake Eucha In 1952, Lake Eucha in Delaware County, Oklahoma, was created by completion of the Eucha dam on Spavinaw Creek. The nearest town is Jay, Oklahoma. This lake is owned by the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma and functions as additional storage and as a bu ...

prompted her family to relocate to Rattlesnake Hollow. Starr Scott graduated from Jay High School in 1957. She pursued further education at Haskell Indian Junior College and Tulsa Junior College. Starr Scott initially worked as a hairdresser, running her own business out of her home in Bixby, Oklahoma, for many years. Later, she transitioned into healthcare, becoming a dental assistant for the Indian Health Service. In addition to her career in healthcare, Starr Scott and her husband, Arthur Calvin Scott, whom she married on November 13, 1958, started a family business, the "Lil Indian Smoke Shop," in

Jay, Oklahoma Jay is a city and county seat of Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,448 at the 2010 census, compared to 2,482 at the 2000 census, a decrease of 1.4 percent. Almost 40% of its residents are Native American, thus Ja ...

. They ran the shop alongside their son, Calvin Jay, and his wife, Rhonda. Starr Scott's political involvement began with her election to the Cherokee Nation tribal council. She represented the multi-member district 5 ( Delaware and Ottawa counties) from 1983 to 1987 and 1995 to 1999. In 1987, Starr Scott ran for deputy chief of Cherokee Nation, placing second to incumbent John Letcher 4,763 votes to 3,906. During her time on the council, she chaired the health committee, co-chaired the executive and finance committee, and contributed to the education, language, rules, and community development committees. She advocated for improving healthcare services for

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

citizens. In 1997, Starr Scott was part of an

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

investigation into illegal wiretapping, where she was asked to identify her voice in recordings tied to potential wiretap violations. The investigation focused on wiretapping among tribal officials rather than the content of the conversations. At the 1999 Cherokee Nation constitutional convention, Starr Scott supported a proposal to create two

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

districts on the tribal council, which became the successful "Starr-Scott proposal" that was included in the 1999 Cherokee Nation constitution. Starr Scott was a collector of Native American jewelry. She died on December 6, 2020, at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr Scott, Barbara 1939 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century Native American women Members of the Council of the Cherokee Nation Women in Oklahoma politics Cherokee Nation women 20th-century Native American politicians Native American women in politics Haskell Indian Junior College alumni Tulsa Community College alumni People from Claremore, Oklahoma People from Bixby, Oklahoma People from Delaware County, Oklahoma