Neal A. "Chief" McCaleb (born 1935) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and Republican

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. A member of the Chickasaw Nation, McCaleb served in several positions in the Oklahoma state government and then as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Early life

Born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, McCaleb graduated from Putnam City High School in 1953 and received bachelor's degree in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

(then known as Oklahoma A&M College) in 1957. Prior to entering politics, McCaleb was a practicing

. In 1975, McCaleb was named the charter Chairman of the

American Indian Council of Architects and Engineers The American Indian Council of Architects and Engineers (AICAE) is a non-profit organization that promotes the development of American Indian professionals in the fields of architecture and engineering. The AICAE encourages the training, licensure ...

Oklahoma politics

State Legislature

McCaleb was elected as a Republican to 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 ...

in 1974. He remained in the House until 1983. In 1978, McCaleb's colleagues elected him House Minority Leader. He remained in that position until his retirement from the Legislature.

Bellmon Administration

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gove ...

Henry Bellmon Henry Louis Bellmon (September 3, 1921 – September 29, 2009) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from the U.S. State of Oklahoma. A member of the Oklahoma Legislature, he went on to become both the 18th a ...

appointed McCaleb to serve as the State's first

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

. The post was created following the passage of the

Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986 The Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986 (74 O.S. Sections 10.1–10.4) is an Oklahoma state law that requires the Governor of Oklahoma to organize the various 500 or more departments, agencies, boards, commissions and other entities of the state's ...

. In addition to his service as Secretary, Bellmon appointed him to serve concurrently as Director of the

Oklahoma Department of Transportation The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Sec ...

. McCaleb served in both positions until the end of Bellmon's term in 1991.

Oklahoma Good Roads Association

Following the end of Bellmon's term, McCaleb became the President of the Oklahoma Good Roads and Transportation Association, a

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

group dedicated to advocating safe, efficient and affordable state streets, roads and highways. He served as president until 1995.

Keating Administration

In 1995, incumbent

David Walters David Lee Walters (born November 20, 1951) is an American politician who was the 24th governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995. Born in Canute, Oklahoma, Walters was a project manager for Governor David Boren and the youngest executive officer w ...

choose not to seek re-election as Governor. Republican Frank Keating was elected to succeed him in that position. Keating appointed McCaleb to serve as his

. Additionally, Keating appointed McCaleb as the head of both the

and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. McCaleb remained in all three positions until July 2001 when he resigned to take a federal government job. Keating appointed Herschal Crow of

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

to succeed him as Secretary.

George W. Bush Administration

As a member of the Chickasaw Nation, McCaleb was appointed by Republican

in 2001 to be the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs in the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

, reporting directly to

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

Gale Norton. As the head of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

, McCaleb was charged with the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States government for Native Americans, Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s, and

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...

. McCaleb remained in that position until 2002, when he returned home to Oklahoma.

Chickasaw national service

After leaving federal government service, McCaleb began work as advisor to Bill Anoatubby, Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. McCaleb has been tasked by Governor Anoatubby with the development of long-term economic development plans and policy. Governor Anoatubby appointed McCaleb to the board of directors of Chickasaw Community Bank (formerly Bank 2), a financial industry firm completely owned by the Chickasaw Nation. Governor Anoatubby also made McCaleb the chairman of the board for Chickasaw Nation Industries, a wholly owned subentity of the Nation responsible for promoting economic development for the tribe.

Personal life

McCaleb is married to his wife Georgann and together they have four children and twelve grandchildren.

References

External links

Chickasaw Nations Industries Board of DirectorsNeal McCaleb Profile and Videos
- Chickasaw.TV
Voices of Oklahoma interview.
First person interview conducted on September 22, 2011, with Neal McCaleb. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mccaleb, Neal 1935 births Living people 20th-century Native American politicians 20th-century American politicians 21st-century Native American politicians 21st-century American politicians George W. Bush administration personnel Heads of Oklahoma state agencies Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Native American leaders Chickasaw Nation state legislators in Oklahoma State cabinet secretaries of Oklahoma United States Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel