Lisa Johnson Billy (born February 21, 1967) is a

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

and American politician who has served in the legislatures of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation () is a federally recognized Indigenous nation with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma, in the United States. The Chickasaw Nation descends from an Indigenous population historically located in the southeastern United States, in ...

. She has served as a tribal councillor for the Chickasaw Nation since 2016 and previously served on the council between 1996 and 2002. She represented

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 ...

district 42 from 2004 to 2016 and was appointed by President of the United States

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to the board of trustees of the

Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government to honor Morris K. Udall's lasting impact on the environment, public lands, and natural resources, and his support of the rights and s ...

in 2017. She held the positions of

Oklahoma Secretary of Native American Affairs The Oklahoma Secretary of Native American Affairs is a cabinet-level executive official in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The office was created in January 2019. The position has been vacant since September 2023. History When debating the creation of ...

and Oklahoma

Native American Affairs Liaison The Native American Affairs Liaison is a position in the executive branch of Oklahoma government responsible for representing federally recognized tribes in the state within the executive branch. The position replaced the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Com ...

in 2019 after her appointment by Governor

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2018, defeating Democrat and former state Attorney Ge ...

Early life and education

Billy was born on February 21, 1967, in

Purcell, Oklahoma Purcell is a city in and the county seat of McClain County, Oklahoma, McClain County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 6,651, a 13% increase from 2010. Founded in 1887, Purcell w ...

. She is the daughter of Frank Johnson Sr. and the late Beverly (Jones) Johnson. Her father Frank was a

elder and former tribal legislator. Billy earned a bachelor's degree 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 a Master's degree 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

Prior to serving in elected office, Billy worked as a teacher for the Department of Continuing Education at the

and was a board member of

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she ...

and

cub scout Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scout organizations, for young children, usually between 8 and 12, who are too young to be Scouts and make the Scout Promise. A participant in the program is called a Cub and a group of Cubs ...

leader for the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

. Billy served as a member of the

's tribal legislature between 1996 and 2002.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

In 2004, she was elected to represent house district 42 in the

. She served as the deputy whip from 2004 to 2006, vice chair of the Republican caucus from 2006 to 2008, and majority floor leader from 2014 to 2016. She was the first

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, the first woman, and the first

citizen to represent her district. She formed the state's first Native American caucus. During her term, she supported legislation related to tribes in Oklahoma such as allowing Native American language classes to be taken for a foreign language credit in Oklahoma high schools. She cites

Helen Cole Helen TeAta Gale Cole (July 13, 1922 – April 7, 2004) was an American politician who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1979 to 1984. She first served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1984 to 1988. She returned to the state senate ...

as her mentor.

Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation

On November 21, 2017, President

nominated Billy to be a member of the board of trustees of the

for a term expiring August 25, 2024. On December 21, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination by voice vote. She officially took office on December 27, 2017.

Oklahoma Secretary of Native American Affairs

In January 2019, Governor

appointed Billy to serve as the first

. She resigned in December 2019 citing the Stitt administration's conflict with tribal governments over gaming compacts in the state.

Return to Chickasaw Nation legislature

In 2016, Billy was elected to a three-year term in the

legislature. She was sworn in October 3, 2016. She was unopposed in her campaign for re-election in 2019 and 2022.

References

External links

Lisa Billy Profile and Videos
– Chickasaw.TV
2005-2006 Oklahoma Almanac Online--Oklahoma History

Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project--OSU Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billy, Lisa Johnson 1967 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Native American politicians Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature Chickasaw Nation state legislators in Oklahoma Chickasaw people of Choctaw descent Native American women in politics Northeastern State University alumni People from Purcell, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni Women state legislators in Oklahoma 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women State cabinet secretaries of Oklahoma Members of the Chickasaw Nation legislature Stitt administration cabinet members