Betty Mae Tiger Jumper
Betty Mae Tiger Jumper | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Tribal Council Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida | |
| In office 1967–1971 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Osceola |
| Succeeded by | Howard Tommie |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 27, 1923 Indiantown, Florida |
| Died | January 14, 2011 (aged 87) |
| Resting place | New Seminole Cemetery |
| Spouse | Moses Jumper |
Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, also known as Potackee (April 27, 1923 – January 14, 2011) (Seminole), was the first and so far the only female chairperson of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. A nurse, she co-founded the tribe's first newspaper in 1956, the Seminole News, later replaced by The Seminole Tribune, for which she served as editor, winning a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native American Journalists Association. In 2001 she published her memoir, entitled A Seminole Legend.
Tiger was the first Florida Seminole to learn to read and write English, and the first to graduate from high school and a nursing program. In addition to serving as editor of the newspaper, she was Communications Director for the tribe.