George Wickliffe, the chief of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, will be joining the legal field.

Wickliffe has been accepted into the University of Tulsa College of Law. He will start in the spring semester of 2014 and will remain in tribal office.

"[T]his will not take away from my abilities as chief of the United Keetoowah Band," Wickliffe said during his State of the Nation address, The Tahlequah Daily Press reported.

The tribe is facing legal challenges from the Cherokee Nation to its land-into-trust applications and its gaming operation.

“We will bounce back,” Wickliffe said in his speech, the paper reported. “I’m believe that when we next have our celebration next year, it will be the biggest we have ever seen.”

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Wickliffe delivers State of UKB Nation address (The Tahlequah Daily Press 9/17)