Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today the appointment of W. W. Keeler, Bartlesville, Okla., as consultant on planning policy and reorganization of functions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Mr. Keeler, executive vice president of the Phillips Petroleum Company and principal chief of the Cherokee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, has agreed to serve without compensation for a period of 90 days starting February 5.
Born in 1908 at Dalhart, Texas, where his parents were temporarily located in connection with his father's cattle business, Mr. Keeler grew up in Bartlesville and first joined the Phillips Company on summer vacation work in the engineering department at the age of 16.
In 1926 he was graduated from Bartlesville high school and entered the University of Kansas engineering school. Three years later he became permanently associated with Phillips, holding down a full-time job in the refinery at Kansas City, Kansas, while continuing his studies at the University. Over the years he rose steadily in the company's organization and was elected executive vice president in 1956.
Early in 1952 Mr. Keeler was appointed Director of refining in the Petroleum Administration for Defense, Washington, D. C., and served in this post one year without compensation. Since 1954 he has been chairman of the Military Petroleum Advisory Board.
Born of Cherokee Indian ancestry, Mr. Keeler has long been active in welfare and educational work among the Indians of Oklahoma. In 1948 he was elected vice chairman of the executive committee of the Cherokee Nation and late in 1949 was appointed principal chief of the tribal organization by former President Harry S. Truman. He is still serving in this post and is also a member of the Commission on the Rights, Liberties and Responsibilities of the American Indian, a study group sponsored by the Fund for the Republic.
In 1957 he received the All-American Indian Award, which is presented annually to an outstanding American Indian.
Mr. Keeler is extremely active in the civic affairs of Bartlesville and in numerous organizations connected with the petroleum industry.
He is married to the former Ruby Hamilton of Industry, Kansas, and has three sons.
