By Ashleigh Fortenberry
Published: May. 6, 2019 at 7:29 PM EDT
Out of 537 federally recognized tribes and leaders, Chief Phyllis Anderson of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians was named tribal leader of the year, at the annual NAFOA conference.
“This award not only belongs to me. It belongs to the Choctaw people, because of their faith in me, because they believed in me and they’re the ones who inspire me and they get me through that finish line,” said Chief Anderson.
Like the tribal leader of the year, NAFOA’s leadership awards celebrate excellence in advancing tribal economies.
“When I first came into office, we were in a tight spot and what I mean by that is that we have had a lot of work to do to correct the wrongs that had been done before I came into office and we started with stabilizing the tribes,” said Chief Anderson.
Chief Anderson is proud to be the first female it her position, but she said she believes her role isn’t about gender, but leadership.
“You have to love the work that you do in order to be able to produce results and we have done that in the last eight years and I am very proud of that and I believe that the Choctaw people are too. I look forward to continuing this position for a very long time,” said Chief Anderson.
Chief Anderson was elected back in 2011 and is currently running for re-election.
Other candidates running in the June 2019 election are Cyrus Ben, Barry McMillian, Randy Anderson, Beasley Denson and Eric McMillian.
