William A. Durant (March 18, 1866August 1, 1948) was a Choctaw politician in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of Oklahoma. A lawyer, he sat in the tribal legislature and later became Speaker of the Choctaw Nation before its annexation in 1906. He played a role in Oklahoma statehood and served in the

Oklahoma House The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, 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 ...

, rising to become its third

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. He was the sponsor of a bill that created

Southeastern Oklahoma State University Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern, SE, or SOSU) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had an undergraduate enrollment of 4,824 in 2019. History On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an ac ...

. He served later in life as chief of the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

during World War II.

Early life

Born in Bennington, in Indian Territory, on March 18, 1866, he was the son of Sylvester Durant, a Presbyterian minister, and Martha Robinson.William Durant 1937-1948

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
(accessed July 18, 2013) He earned a master's degree in education from Arkansas College in 1886. A lawyer, Durant was licensed to practice in the courts of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations and in United States federal courts. In 1890, he was elected to the legislature of the Choctaw Nation and became speaker in 1891. He married Ida May Corber on April 19, 1892. Durant served as a sergeant-at-arms at the 1906 Oklahoma constitutional convention.Milligan, James C.
BRYAN COUNTY

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
. (accessed July 18, 2013) On November 16, 1907, Durant took part in the ceremony that united Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory into the

of Oklahoma. Durant's role was to give away the bride, Miss Indian Territory, to the groom.

Oklahoma Legislature

Durant was elected to the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

in 1907, after Oklahoma became a state, and served in the

1st Oklahoma Legislature The First Oklahoma Legislature was the first meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The meeting took place from December 2, 1907, to May 26, 190 ...

. During the regular session of the

2nd Oklahoma Legislature The Second Oklahoma Legislature was a meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives, during the only term of Governor Charles Haskell. State legislato ...

in 1909, he sponsored a bill that set the Southeastern Normal School, which later became

, in Durant, Oklahoma. Enacted March 6, 1909, the legislation initially created an education institution that offered four years of high school and junior college.Norris, L. David.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
, Oklahoma State University. (accessed July 19, 2013) The school opened its doors to students on June 14, 1909. Durant was also one of the authors of a bill that dealt with the location of Oklahoma's capital.A Century to Remember

Oklahoma House of Representatives
(accessed July 18, 2013) He served as the third

Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The speaker exercises administrative and procedural functions, but remains a ...

during the regular session of the 3rd Oklahoma Legislature. He continued to serve in the

4th Oklahoma Legislature The Fourth Oklahoma Legislature was a meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The state legislature met in the India White Temple in Oklahoma City, ...

and served as Speaker Pro Tempore in the

5th Oklahoma Legislature The Fifth Oklahoma Legislature was a meeting of the Oklahoma Legislature, legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The state legislature met in Oklahoma City, in r ...

, when a special session was called to address the United States Supreme Court decision on

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

. His final term in the Oklahoma House of Representatives ended in 1917, after the regular session of the 6th Oklahoma Legislature. Durant served as Speaker of the Choctaw Nation during his service in the state legislature and as its speaker, the only man to do so. He also served as Secretary of the Oklahoma Senate and as a Chief Clerk of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Choctaw Nation chief

When Oklahoma became a state, United States presidents appointed the chiefs of the Choctaw Nation. Durant, who was appointed chief by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, served as Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation from 1937 to 1948, leading the tribe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Death

Durant died in Tuskahoma on August 1, 1948, and is buried in Durant, Oklahoma.

References

External links

Oklahoma Hall of Fame Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durant, William A. 1866 births 1948 deaths 20th-century members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives American Freemasons Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma politicians Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Members of the Society of American Indians Native American tribal government officials in Indian Territory Oklahoma Democrats People from Indian Territory Presbyterians from Oklahoma Speakers of the Oklahoma House of Representatives World War II political leaders Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma state legislators in Oklahoma Members of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention