Helen TeAta Gale Cole (July 13, 1922 – April 7, 2004) was an American politician who served in the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

from 1979 to 1984, when she was first elected to the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Kathleen Wilcoxson in 1997. Her son, Tom Cole, is the longest-serving Native American in the history of the United States Congress.

Early life and education

Helen TeAta Gale was born in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, on July 13, 1922, to William Oakley Gale and Avis Minnette Fifield (Thompson). She was raised in a single-parent household and graduated from Ardmore High School in 1939.

Career

Cole was active in several local civic and political organizations, and contributed to the successful gubernatorial campaigns of Henry Bellmon and Dewey Bartlett. Cole was named a delegate to the

1968 Republican National Convention The 1968 Republican National Convention was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in the general election. It nominated former Vice President ...

, and Bartlett appointed her to the Oklahoma Personnel Board. Cole then ran for a seat on the

. From 1979 to 1984, she represented district 54. Cole contested the 45th district

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Moore, Oklahoma, in 1990. The next year, she succeeded her son Tom Cole as state senator from the 45th district. Cole was named a National Convention delegate for a second time for the

1992 Republican National Convention The 1992 Republican National Convention was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The convention nominated President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for reelection. It was Bush's fourth co ...

. Cole stepped down from the state senate in 1997, and was succeeded by Kathleen Wilcoxson. Cole was then appointed a National Convention delegate for a third time for the

2000 Republican National Convention The 2000 Republican National Convention convened at the First Union Center (now the Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 31 to August 3, 2000. The 2000 delegates assembled at the convention nominated Texas Governor George ...

. In retirement, she became a benefactor of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

Personal life

Cole was of Chickasaw and

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

descent. She was a member of the Chickasaw Nation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Helen 1922 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century Native Americans 20th-century Native American politicians 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women Chickasaw people of Choctaw descent 20th-century Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Chickasaw Nation state legislators in Oklahoma Native American women in politics Republican Party Oklahoma state senators People from Moore, Oklahoma People from Tishomingo, Oklahoma Women mayors of places in Oklahoma Women state legislators in Oklahoma Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives