Early life
Batton was born on December 15, 1966, inCareer
In 1997, he was chosen as executive director of the Choctaw Nation Health Services Authority. Upon the retirement of Assistant Chief Mike Bailey in May 2007, Batton was selected as Assistant Chief. During his career as executive director, Batton assisted by adding, replacing, and expanding clinics, as well as enhancing the treatment of alcohol and drug abuse. After the retirement of Chief Gregory E. Pyle in April 2014, Batton was appointed by the tribal council as acting Chief. At that time, he had served 17 years in office, including 13 years as Assistant Chief. During that time, the tribe was embroiled in allegations of corruption by contractors and a tribal officer related to construction projects, including one for a casino. Neither Pyle nor Batton were charged in relation to this federal case. By November 2014, six men had pleaded guilty in a "fraudulent purchase of $8.5 million in steel for a casino project." On November 20, Jason Brett Merida, executive director of construction for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, was found guilty on six counts of a seven-count indictment. On July 11, 2015, Batton was elected as Chief in his own right in the general election with 86.5% of the vote. On September 7, he was sworn in as Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma for a four-year term. (The person occupying this office may be elected to an unlimited number of four-year terms.) Batton filed to run for a second term in the 2019 election, where he was reelected as Chief. Batton led the tribe in talks with the federal government under the Obama and Trump administrations. Batton stood for reelection in 2023 with no opposition.Positions
Batton has faced pressure from some in the U.S. Congress over the tribe's refusal to extend citizenship to freedmen, to the point where Maxine Waters (D-CA) threatened to withhold housing funds unless the tribe relented. The tribe currently excludes freedmen under the rule that they are not "Choctaw by-blood," as defined in the 1983 Constitution. Ultimately, the congressional threat went nowhere. Batton insists that refusing citizenship to the freedmen is "not a race issue," and was joined by Dr. Carter Blue Clark, a Muscogee Nation citizen and a professor of Indigenous Law at Oklahoma City University, in claiming it is an issue of tribal sovereignty, and no business of the federal government. Although a registered Republican, Batton joined his fellow chiefs of the Five Tribes to endorse Democrat Joy Hofmeister for governor against incumbent Republican Kevin Stitt inPersonal life
Batton lives in Clayton,Elections
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batton, Gary 1966 births 20th-century Native American people 21st-century Native American politicians Chiefs of the Choctaw Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma politicians Living people Oklahoma Republicans People from Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Politicians from Wichita, Kansas