"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Poteete Named to Cherokee Supreme Court

***"Troy Wayne Poteete was recently confirmed by the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council as a Supreme Court Justice for the tribe. Poteete will be sworn into his new position in Oct."***

TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilors confirmed Principal Chief Chad Smith’s nomination of a former Council member to serve as a Justice on the tribe’s Supreme Court. Troy Wayne Poteete, of Webbers Falls, will serve a 10-year appointment on the court.

Smith described Poteete as a man of integrity and sound judgment with deep roots in the Cherokee Nation, and said his extensive experience inside the Cherokee Nation government and his deep knowledge of Cherokee history will make him an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.

“His tenure working for both the executive and legislative branches of the Cherokee Nation has created a great breadth of knowledge of the tribe, which would be hard to match in another candidate. It would be hard to find anyone more conversant of the past, present and future of the Cherokee Nation,” Smith said.

Poteete, a popular two-term Cherokee Nation Tribal Council member from 1991 – 1999, has been active in Cherokee affairs for most of his adult life. His activities have included a long record of service to various Cherokee historical organizations, including successfully serving as the executive director of the Cherokee Historical Society for more than two years and he is presently the national vice-president of the National Trail of Tears Association.

“I was raised on Cherokee history and from my earliest years was fascinated with my Cherokee ancestors, particularly my well-known great-great-great grandfather, Judge Franklin Falkner, who served as a judge in the Cherokee Nation’s Sequoyah District Court during the 1870s and 1880s,” Poteete said. “I want to thank the Tribal Council for their confidence in me. I look forward to serving.”

Poteete earned his juris doctorate from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 2001, and was in private practice until 2005. He is a current member in good standing of the Cherokee Bar Association. He currently serves as executive director of the Arkansas Riverbed Authority, with the responsibility for joint administration with the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations of the tribally owned bed and banks of the Arkansas River between Muskogee and Ft. Smith, Ark. Poteete also brings with him an additional 20 years of experience in the banking and insurance fields.

“Sitting on our Supreme Court is a great honor and an awesome responsibility,” said Poteete, “I’m excited about the opportunity to serve in the Judicial Branch of our government. I feel my years in the tribal legislature, particularly as chair of the Rules Committee where we dealt directly with changes to the Cherokee Nation Code, have given me a unique perspective and insight into complex legal issues.”