Name Charlotte Hallmark | ||
Charlotte Hallmark is a Cherokee American politician and served as the first female chief of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama from 2006 to 2014. She had previously been elected as vice-chief and served as interim chief four separate times.
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Early life and education
Charlotte Hallmark was born in Georgia, grew up in Central Florida and attended local schools in the Orlando area.
Career
Hallmark worked for as the Executive Director for the Inter-Tribal Council of Alabama for 12 years which administers federal programs to low-income American Indians.
The Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, a state-recognized tribe, organized and incorporated in 1984 under provisions of the state's Davis-Strong Act. The state set up an Indian Commission and recognized the Echota Cherokee and six other tribes. The tribe has not received federal recognition. Its members are descendants of Cherokee who evaded the United States' Indian Removal of the 1830s.
Active as a tribal member, Hallmark was elected repeatedly as vice chairman and served for several years. During that time, she served as interim chief four different times.
In 2006, Hallmark was the first woman selected by the tribal council to succeed to the chief's position. Her four-year term ran to 2010. She was elected to a second four-year term which ended in April 2014. Ms. Hallmark declined to run for a third time.