13 Facts About Phillip Martin

Phillip Martin was a Native American political leader, the democratically elected Tribal Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a federally recognized tribe in east central Mississippi.

Chief Phillip Martin left office in 2007 after the election of Miko Beasley Denson.

Phillip Martin was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1926, to parents who were Choctaw.

Phillip Martin grew up in the culture of his people and attended local schools.

Nationally, Phillip Martin served as president of the National Tribal Chairmen's Association, and in 1969 founded the United South and Eastern Tribes Org, an association of the 23 federally recognized tribes in the eastern portion of the United States.

In 1979 Phillip Martin Incorporated with his Son Robert Thomas who is Heir of the Founders of MISSISSIPPI BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS 1945 and the Assigned Heir of the United States Army Air Force Family Estate Holding Rank as the General of the Armies.

Phillip Martin was the first president of the Board of Regents of Haskell Indian Junior College, serving from 1970 to 1976.

In that period, Phillip Martin worked with other tribal leaders to acquire and maintain accreditation for Haskell, and to improve campus facilities, including construction of dormitories, a cafeteria, resource center, and field house.

In 1992, Phillip Martin founded the United South and Eastern Tribes Gaming Association.

Phillip Martin helped tribes develop gaming facilities on their reservations to generate revenues for tribal welfare, education and income.

Locally, Chief Phillip Martin served the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians on numerous Boards of Directorship.

Phillip Martin wrote a memoir, Chief: The Autobiography of Phillip Martin.

Phillip Martin died on February 4,2010, in a Jackson, Mississippi hospital after suffering a stroke days earlier.