Vernon Lewis Ashley (January 16, 1916 – November 10, 2015) was a Native American leader.

Career

Born on the banks of the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

, Ashley was chairman of the

Crow Creek Indian Reservation The Crow Creek Indian Reservation (, '), home to Crow Creek Sioux Tribe ( or Húŋkpathi Oyáte) is located in parts of Buffalo, Hughes, and Hyde counties on the east bank of the Missouri River in central South Dakota in the United States. ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. The tribe adapted their first constitution while Ashley was in office. The development of Lake Sharpe and the flooding of tribal lands also took place during Ashley's term in office. Later, Ashley worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and was the first coordinator of Indian Affairs for the state of South Dakota.

Personal life

Ashley graduated from Flandreau Indian School and then served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1952 Ashley received his bachelor's degree from

Dakota Wesleyan University Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) is a private Methodist university in Mitchell, South Dakota. It was founded in 1885 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The student body averages slightly fewer than 800 students. The campus of t ...

. On July 15, 2015, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe made him chief of the tribe.

Notes

1916 births 2015 deaths Dakota Wesleyan University alumni United States Army Air Forces soldiers Native American leaders Crow Creek Sioux Tribe people United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century South Dakota politicians {{NativeAmerican-politician-stub