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Cherokee Nation Chief, Deputy, 8 Councilors Inaugurated

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker has been sworn in for his second, four-year term.

More than 1,000 people attended Friday's inauguration at Sequoyah High School in the tribal capital of Tahlequah to watch Baker and Deputy Chief S. Joe Crittenden sworn in.

Tribal councilors Rex Jordan, David Walkingstick, Shawn Crittenden, Dick Lay, Buel Anglen, Bryan Warner, Keith Austin and Wanda Hatfield also took office.

Baker handily won re-election in June, defeating ex-chief Chad Smith and two others to avoid a runoff after picking up more than 50 percent of the vote.

Baker leads a tribe of 320,000 people, a workforce of 9,000 and controls a budget approaching $1 billion.

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