Phyliss J. Anderson

Phyliss J. Anderson is the first female elected Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Phyliss J. Anderson succeeded incumbent Miko Beasley Denson after the election committee concluded ballot count on Wednesday July 6, 2011. Challenger Anderson polled 1,971 votes as to defeat Beasley Denson who polled 1,618. Phyliss Anderson was sworn in as Chief on Tuesday July 12, 2011. She is the fourth elected tribal chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians subsequent to the tribal government's re-establishment of 1945.
She assumed office "at a time when the tribe's most lucrative businesses have come under scrutiny, including an FBI raid on Pearl River Resort and Casino in July 2011," saying that "financial stability" would be her "top goal," and "pledged that she would 'not tolerate intimidation, use of fear tactics and/or threats of jobs.'"
Anderson is "a graduate of Choctaw Central High School and East Central Community College."
In December 2011, she was "selected to introduce President Barack Obama ... at the 3rd Annual White House Tribal Nations Conference."
Acting as Tribal Chief and Chairman of Choctaw Resort Development Enterprise, in Feb. 2012, Anderson signed a 78 million dollar loan package with Trustmark to refinance "the Mississippi Choctaw's Pearl River Resort in Choctaw and the Bok Homa Casino in Jones County." She was a Choctaw Indian Princess prior to becoming the chief.
In October 2012, a portrait of Chief Anderson was unveiled at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum.