Gilbert Dukes

{{Short description|Native American politician}} {{infobox officeholder | office = Chief of the Choctaw Nation | term_start = 1900 | term_end = 1902 | predecessor = Green McCurtain | successor = Green McCurtain | office2 = Choctaw National Auditor | term_start2 = 1895 | term_end2 = 1897 | office3 = Judge for the Choctaw Nation's 2nd district court | term_start3 = 1889 | term_end3 = 1895 | office4 = Justice of the Choctaw Supreme Court | term_start4 = 1885 | term_end4 = 1889 | birth_date = {{birth date|1849|11|21}} | birth_place = Bok Tuklo, Choctaw Nation | death_date = {{death date and age|1919|12|26|1849|11|21}} | death_place = Talihina, Oklahoma, U.S. | citizenship = Choctaw Nation<br>American | party = Tuskahoma Party | other_party = Republican | branch = Confederate States Army | allegiance = {{flag|Confederate States}} }} '''Gilbert Wesley Dukes''' was a Choctaw judge and politician who served as the Chief of the Choctaw Nation between 1900 and 1902. He was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 1910.

==Biography== Gilbert Wesley Dukes was born on November 21, 1849, in Bok Tuklo, Choctaw Nation, to Joseph Dukes and Nancy Collins. His father was an interpreter and translator for missionaries. Dukes attended the Spenser Academy, read the law, and practiced in tribal courts.{{sfn|Meserve|1940|p=54}} He fought for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War under Jackson McCurtain.{{sfn|Meserve|1940|p=59}} After he moved to Talihina, Indian Territory he was elected sheriff for Wade County, Choctaw Nation. He was a Choctaw Nation Supreme Court Justice from 1885 to 1889 and a circuit court judge for the nation's 2nd district between 1889 and 1895. From 1895 to 1897 he served as the nation's auditor.{{sfn|Meserve|1940|p=54}} He ran for Chief of the Choctaw Nation in 1900 with the Tuskahoma Party. He supported implementing the Atoka Agreement, settling tribal affairs, and using mineral leases to fund education. He defeated Jacob B. Jackson of the National Party and E. N. Wright of the Union Party.{{sfn|Meserve|1940|p=55}} He chose not to seek reelection as Chief in 1902 and was succeeded by his predecessor, Green McCurtain.

Following Oklahoma statehood, he was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 1910. He lost the election to J. J. McAlester.{{sfn|Meserve|1940|p=58}}

He married Angeline Wade, the daughter of Choctaw Governor Alfred Wade, in 1870.{{sfn|Meserve|1940|p=58}} He died on December 26, 1919, southeast of Talihina.{{sfn|Meserve|1940|p=59}}

==Electoral history== {{Election box begin no change | title=Oklahoma lieutenant gubernatorial Republican primary (August 2, 1910)<ref name="1910 Results">{{cite web |title=1907-1912 Results |url=https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/elections/election-results/results-prior-to-1980/1907-1912-results.pdf |website=oklahoma.gov |publisher=Oklahoma State Election Board |access-date=23 September 2023}}</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | candidate = Gilbert W. Dukes | party = Republican Party (United States) | votes = 60,938 | percentage = 100% }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin | title=1910 Oklahoma lieutenant gubernatorial election<ref name="1910 Results" />}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = J.J. McAlester |votes = 118,544 |percentage = 49.3% |change = -5.4% }} {{Election box candidate with party link |party = Republican Party (United States) |candidate = Gilbert W. Dukes |votes = 94,621 |percentage = 39.3% |change = -2.0% }} {{Election box candidate with party link |party = Socialist Party of America |candidate = John G. Wills |votes = 23,974 |percentage = 9.9% |change = +6.0% }} {{Election box candidate with party link |party = Prohibition Party |candidate = I.A. Briggs |votes = 3,136 |percentage = 1.3% |change = ''New'' }} {{Election box hold with party link |winner = Democratic Party (United States) |total = 240,275 |swing = }}

300px|thumb|Results by county {{collapsible list |title=McAlester: |{{legend|#A5B0FF|40–50%}} |{{legend|#7996E2|50–60%}} |{{legend|#6674DE|60–70%}} |{{legend|#584CDE|70–80%}} }} {{collapsible list |title=Dukes: |{{legend|#FFB2B2|40–50%}} |{{legend|#E27F7F|50–60%}} |{{legend|#D75D5D|60–70%}} }} {{Election box end}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Works cited== *{{cite journal |last1=Meserve |first1=John Bartlett |title=Chief Gilbert Wesley Dukes |journal=Chronicles of Oklahoma |date=Spring 1940 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=53–59 |url=https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2192154/ |access-date=29 September 2024}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukes, Gilbert}} Category:1849 births Category:1919 deaths Category:20th-century Native American politicians Category:Chiefs of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Category:Choctaw Confederates Category:Choctaw people on the Dawes Rolls Category:Confederate States Army soldiers Category:Child soldiers in the American Civil War Category:Candidates in the 1910 United States elections Category:Oklahoma lawyers Category:Oklahoma Republicans Category:Native American Christians Category:Native American tribal government officials in Indian Territory Category:People from McCurtain County, Oklahoma Category:People of Indian Territory in the American Civil War Category:Presbyterians from Oklahoma