Chickasaw ambassador Neal McCaleb dies at 89
EDMOND, Okla. – Neal McCaleb, Chickasaw Nation Ambassador At-Large to the United States, who served as Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs and was a powerful advocate of First American tribal sovereignty and economic opportunities, died Jan. 7. He was 89.
McCaleb was inducted into the Chickasaw Hall of Fame in 1999, Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Hall of Fame in 2019.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Chickasaw citizen and longtime public servant Neal McCaleb,” Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said. “Neal dedicated his life to serving others. As U.S. Assistant Secretary of Interior Affairs, Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation, an Oklahoma State Representative and serving multiple roles in the Chickasaw Nation, most recently as ambassador at-large, Neal’s legacy of service has impacted countless lives across the United States. As a husband, father, friend, advisor and public servant, Neal’s absence will be felt, and that is because his presence was such a blessing to all of us who were privileged enough to know him.”
He was appointed Chickasaw Nation Ambassador At-Large in 2013 by Governor Anoatubby following the death of longtime ambassador Charles Blackwell.
McCaleb served Governor Anoatubby and the Chickasaw people as an economic development consultant in several capacities, including businesses owned by Chickasaw Nation Industries. He served on the board of directors for Chickasaw Community Bank, located in Oklahoma City.
McCaleb was appointed to important roles by three U.S. Presidents – Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Bush tapped McCaleb to oversee Indian Affairs in mid-2001. McCaleb was charged with the administration and management of 56 million acres of land held in trust by the United States government for First Americans, tribes and Alaska Natives. McCaleb also used his post as assistant secretary to promote economic strength and opportunities for First Americans. He retired from the post in November 2002.
He served on Reagan’s Commission on Indian Reservation Economies in the 1980s. Nixon appointed McCaleb to serve on the National Council on Indian Opportunities from 1972-1974.
Former Oklahoma Gov. Henry Bellmon appointed McCaleb Oklahoma’s first secretary of transportation in 1987.
He also served former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating as director of both the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, in addition to being secretary of transportation. McCaleb spent decades improving roads, turnpikes and infrastructure throughout Oklahoma for much of his career.
During Bellmon’s administration, McCaleb “launched an ambitious road-building program that included reconstruction of Interstate 35 and Broadway Extension and the relocation of Interstate 40 south of downtown,” according to The Oklahoman. McCaleb oversaw construction of the Cherokee Turnpike and the first sections of the Kilpatrick, Creek and Chickasaw turnpikes.
Under Keating, McCaleb constructed extensions of the Kilpatrick and H.E. Bailey turnpikes.
Oklahoma Department of Transportation Director Tim Gatz and Turnpike Director Joe Echelle released a joint statement praising McCaleb’s legacy, saying he left the state’s highway network “forever changed for the better. Spanning three decades, he applied his extensive knowledge to shaping Oklahoma’s highways, interstates and turnpikes, following the legacy of his father, Burt, who served as Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Chief Engineer,” Gatz and Echelle noted.
He was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1974 and served as House Minority Leader from 1978-1983.
Born in Oklahoma City, June 30, 1935, to Burt and Zelma McCaleb, he was extremely proud of his Chickasaw heritage. He graduated from Putnam City High School in 1953 and received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1957 from Oklahoma A&M University, now Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
Funeral services were conducted Jan. 16 at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond.
McCaleb was preceded in death by his father and mother, Burt and Zelma McCaleb; siblings, Juanita Roper, John B. McCaleb and Marion McCaleb; as well as his son, Adam McCaleb.
He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Georgann; son, Kevin McCaleb; daughter and son-in-law, Kate and Bryan Turner; son and daughter-in-law, Caleb and Terri McCaleb; 16 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.