TAHLEQUAH, Okla.— Cherokee Principal Chief Bill John Baker has tapped a regional director from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be tribe’s new Secretary of State.

Charles Head has worked for the BIA for more than a decade, most recently as the interim regional director for the Eastern Oklahoma office in Muskogee, Okla. Prior to his October 2010 promotion, he was the interim deputy regional director for the same office and was the superintendent of the Miami, Okla., agency office for two years.

Head also has a decade of experience working for the Cherokee Nation, including stints as the tribe’s liaison with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and director of finance.  

A native of Pryor, Okla., Head is a tribal citizen, a graduate of Northeastern State University and is a Vietnam War veteran.

“With his experience working with the federal government and tribes across this area, Charles Head is a natural fit to be Secretary of State,” Baker said. “His talents have served the Cherokee Nation well in the past and they will once again be a tremendous asset.”

If approved by the Tribal Council’s Rules Committee on Dec. 13, Head will be voted on by the full council at its January meeting.