Ben's Political Career

 

Benjamin Nikowa Keel

Political Career

Ben and I met over the phone in July of 2000. During our second phone call in August, we made the crazy decision to marry each other. We were married on January 20th, not so surprisingly on the day George W. Bush was Inaugurated for his first term as President. Ben had some concerns over sharing information about him that he thought would cause me to reject him. One of which was that he was Native American. My response to learning this concern was “Why would that matter?”. Thankfully, I grew up with a love and respect for the native people, because of the love my dad had for them. During the days of our first phone call’s Ben shared with me that he wanted to be a Constitutional Lawyer, working to help his people. The path of Ben’s career was riddled with setbacks and obstacles that were cause by his health. He was diagnosed with lupus in 2003 when our second Zachary was only 6 months old. He spent so much time in and out of hospital stays it affected his path to achieving his goals. However, with the help of our Heavenly Father a path was made for Ben to do more in ways he never imagined in helping his people in the Native American community.

What most of you don’t know is that when Ben was a teenager he received a Patriarchal Blessing. A patriarchal blessing has two main purposes. First, the patriarch (someone who is called and ordained by God through the priesthood) will be inspired to declare your lineage- the tribe of Israel to which you belong. Second, guided by the spirit of prophecy, the patriarch will pronounce blessings and may also provide promises, cautions, or admonitions that apply specifically to you. Your patriarchal blessing may point out certain things you are capable of achieving and blessing you can receive if you exercise faith and live righteously. These blessings are something we hold close and are very personal. When Ben shared his blessing with me I realized how unique it was that Heavenly Father told him that he would find success in providing for his family with a career in Political Science. With this guidance in mind, we made a pointed effort to help him achieve this blessing.

In 2000 prior to Ben and I even knowing each other a first time Oklahoma House of Representatives candidate, Thad Balkman, took a chance on Ben’s 21-year-old self and hired him as his campaign manager. Thad won his election.

We had many years of trying to get Ben through school that he didn’t work in this field and felt at a point that it was time to do whatever we needed to do to get Ben on the career path he was meant to be in.

In 2011 Ben was hired as a legislative assistant for Katie Henke and Arthur Hulbert. He worked as a legislative assistant through 2015 where he worked with and met many amazing Oklahomans, such as Scott Biggs who became a close friend, who all work to make Oklahoma a better place.

From 2011-2012 Ben worked during the off-session time as a Field Director in Green Bay, Wisconsin helping with the Romney Presidential election. He continued to work as a legislative assistant and GOP consultant working in a handful of states including North Dakota.

When the contracts had slowed down Ben found himself trying to find a job working closer to home. After many interviews and hopes that didn’t pan out, and after many prayers seeking guidance in what to do. Ben was reached out to by the Donald Trump campaign asking if he would be interested in working for them here in Oklahoma. We instantly knew that Heavenly Father had put this opportunity in his path and felt the confirmation that this was the answer to our prayers. Ben worked as the Oklahoma Field Director, RNC Whip, and Oklahoma State Director for Donald J. Trump for President Inc. This opportunity gave him a firsthand view of candidate Trump. In 2017 Ben was hired by then President-elect Trump to travel to Washington D.C. And start work as a member of his “beach head team”. President Trump intended to appoint Ben to a position with the Department of Interior, which would have made Ben the first Native American to hold that position in U.S. history. Due to politics, Ben was blocked from this roll. However, he went on to be appointed the Executive Director of the White House Council for Native American Affairs. Where he was able to work on behalf of the administration with all of the tribal leaders in the United States.

During his time at the White House, Ben was able to organize meetings with President Trump and Tribal Leaders as well as other influential people in the Native Community. One of these meetings I got to see the joy and excitement he had in setting up. For the first time in U.S. history President Trump had requested a meeting to solely honor the Navajo Code Talkers in the Oval Office. No other President has invited them alone into the Oval Office, to be honored and acknowledged for their courageous and vital role helping our country during WWII. Driving to and from South Carolina for Thanksgiving Ben spent many hours on the phone with the code talkers and their families trying to do whatever needed to be done to make this meeting possible. His desire and goal were to have all the living code talkers in attendance. All but 2 were able to attend and it was a true highlight of Ben’s time at the White House.

Lisa Billy shared with me a story of an opportunity Ben made possible for her with President Trump. She said “Ben invited me to meet with the President along with some other agriculture leaders from across the U.S.. I was the only Native American and Ben asked me if when I met President Trump if I would speak Chickasaw first. And yes I did, and President Trump was very gracious and honoring to me and asked what language I was speaking. It was a moment and how I wish we could have had our phones and cameras on in the room, but they were not allowed.

It was only because of Ben that I was there meeting with the President. The other people in the room were much more accomplished and had large successful farming operations. Ben just wanted to make sure Native people weren’t left out of this very important conversation about agriculture in America. The President took our 9 recommendations and was able to get things done.”

Another highlight for Ben was that while serving in the White House, he was also able to facilitate and help return monies owed to his own tribe from the federal government. When the new staff started at the HUD department they noticed the government owed the Chickasaw Nation money. The name of the tribe stuck out to them because they had worked with Ben on the campaign trail, and he shared his culture with those he worked with. They connected with him about the discrepancy and asked for his assistance in making things right with his tribe.

After his time at the White House Ben went on to serve in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior as well as in the Office of Tribal Relations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

After his time with the administration Ben worked as a consultant with the National Congress of the American Indian.

In April 2020 until the time of his death, Ben served as a member of the Native American Working Group Board with the Atlanta Braves. The Working Group members along with the Braves organization have been able to create the first Native American All-Star Baseball Showcase in the league. Where the top 50 high school baseball players of Native American descent from around the country are selected to participate. This gives Native Ball Players the opportunity to be seen by professional scouts and collegiate coaches. The Braves also bring awareness and attention to the National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons. They have also created, with the help of Jim Langford, internal and external educational programs to introduce Georgia Native American history curriculum to schools’ systems in the state of Georgia, primarily to 8th graders. During a visit to Atlanta, I also learned that the Braves worked with utility companies to take high-speed internet into rural Native Schools to help provide better learning opportunities and abilities to these Native kids.

Ben found a way, to fulfill his purpose in providing for his family as well and helping his people. Often I would be with Ben in meetings or social settings watching as many high-level people conversed and referred to Ben for his knowledge and expertise with Native Issues. He had a vast knowledge and understanding of things that seemed to be more in depth than others in the room. Ben loved his people; he loved his family, and he worked as hard as he could to make a difference. Ben was a stellar example of not letting political views affect how he saw people. He was able to work with those on both sides of the isle. Sometimes even surprising me with the information on who exactly was actually doing something to help those of the Native Community. He could see the good and the not so great on both sides of the isle and he wasn’t afraid to stand up for and speak up for what he knew to be true. Whether it was President Trump, Al Franken, Larry Echo Hawk, or others, he always saw things with a level head and realistic view of what was being done, by who to help the people he loved and the culture he was a part of.

When I look at his career which is so much shorter than we ever expected I am amazed at all he accomplished, the good he was able to do and the difference he was able to make. I have no doubt that Ben fulfilled his life’s mission on this earth and that our Heavenly Father is pleased with his job well done. I know that his work continues, his love for his ancestors and community continues and the efforts he made during his earthly life will bless those in the Native Community for years to come.

~Shared at Ben's Norman, Oklahoma Memorial by April