Ben Reifel | |
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Wíyaka Waŋžíla | |
Interim Commissioner of Indian Affairs | |
In office 1976–1977 | |
President | Gerald Ford |
Preceded by | Morris Thompson |
Succeeded by | Forrest Gerard (as Asst. Sec. of the Interior for Indian Affairs) |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's 1st district | |
In office January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1971 | |
Preceded by | George McGovern |
Succeeded by | Frank E. Denholm |
Personal details | |
Born | Benjamin Reifel September 19, 1906 Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, U.S. |
Died | January 2, 1990 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S. | (aged 83)
Nationality | Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, American |
Political party | Republican |
Spouses |
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Children | Loyce Nadine Reifel |
Alma mater |
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Profession | Federal civil service |
Benjamin Reifel (/ˈraɪfʊl/ RIFLE; September 19, 1906 – January 2, 1990), also known as Lone Feather (Lakota: Wíyaka Waŋžíla), was a Sicangu Lakota public administrator and politician. He had a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, retiring as area administrator. He ran for the US Congress from the East River region of South Dakota and was elected as the first Lakota to serve in the House of Representatives. He served five terms as a Republican United States Congressman from the (now obsolete) First District, from 1961 to 1971.