Amanda Swope is an American and

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

politician who served as 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 ...

member from the 71st district from 2022 to 2025. She was the

Tulsa County Tulsa County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in the state, behind only Oklahoma C ...

Democratic Party Chairwoman between 2019 and 2022, the youngest person and first Native American to hold the position. She is a citizen of the

Muscogee Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

and, in January 2025 assumed the role of Director of Tribal Policy & Partnership in the administration of

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

Mayor

Monroe Nichols Monroe Nichols IV (born September 24, 1983) is an American politician who has served as the Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, since 2024. He previously served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives representing the 72nd district from 2016 to 2024. Nic ...

Early life and education

Amanda Swope was born and raised in

where she graduated from Nathan Hale High School in 2006. Her mother is former

Tulsa City Council The City of Tulsa has a mayor-council form of government. This form of government has been in place since 1989, at which time Tulsa converted from a city commission form of government. The mayor is elected by the entire population and each of th ...

or Connie Dodson. She earned her bachelor's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from

Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of hig ...

and her master's degree in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

Career

Swope worked in the nonprofit sector before accepting a job for the

in 2018. She became the tribal juvenile justice program director for the

in 2021.

Tulsa County Democratic Party

Swope started volunteering with the

Democratic Party in 2011. She served as the Chairwoman of the

Democratic Party from 2019 to 2022. She was the youngest person and first Native American to hold the seat. She also worked on

Drew Edmondson William Andrew Edmondson (born October 12, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, Edmondson served as the 16th Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2011. Prior to his elect ...

's campaign for governor in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Oklahoma House of Representatives

Swope filed to run for

71st district to succeed Representative Denise Brewer in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. She faced no other Democratic candidates in the primary and Republican Mike Masters in the general election. She was endorsed by the ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

'' and received campaign contributions from the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

. She defeated Masters with over 60% of the vote. She was sworn in on November 16, 2022. During her tenure she served on the Elections and Ethics Committee, Administrative Rules Committee, State Powers Committee, Rules Committee, and Public Safety Appropriations and Budget Committee. Swope ran for reelection unopposed in 2024. That December, she announced she would resign to serve as

's director of tribal policy and partnerships starting January 29, 2025, in Mayor

' administration.

Personal life

Swope is a citizen of the

and of Osage descent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swope, Amanda 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature American people of Osage descent Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Living people Muscogee (Creek) Nation state legislators in Oklahoma Nathan Hale High School alumni Northeastern State University alumni Politicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni Women state legislators in Oklahoma Year of birth missing (living people)