Summer Wesley
| Summer Wesley | |
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| Born | Antlers, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma School of Law |
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| Children | 5 |
Summer Wesley (born 1981 in Choctaw) is an attorney, writer, and activist from Oklahoma. She is a member of the Choctaw Nation.
Summer Wesley was born and raised in rural Southeastern Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation. She attended school in the small town of Rattan, graduating high school a year early, in 1998.
Wesley earned four degrees from the University of Oklahoma.: A Bachelor of Liberal Studies (2005), a master's in Administrative Leadership (2008), during which time she also completed the course requirements for a master's in Interprofessional Health & Human Services. She completed her Juris Doctor and Master of Arts in Native American Studies as part of a dual-degree program. Additionally, Wesley received a Certificate in American Indian Law.
Wesley began writing early, publishing poetry while in her teens.
During law school, Wesley spent a semester as a writer for the Oklahoma Journal of Law & Technology (OKJOLT) and was on OKJOLT's 2012-2013 board of editors. Her published Master's thesis, "Trademarking Tradition: Intellectual Property and Native American Tribes" is deposited in the University of Oklahoma's Bizzell Library.
In 2012, Wesley interned at Oklahoma Indian Legal Services, where she developed her skills in Federal Indian Law and the Indian Child Welfare Act. Since graduating law school, Wesley has been an advocate for Indian Country and has represented clients in tribal courts.
Prior to attending law school, Wesley was active as a volunteer, frequently speaking to Scout groups about racism and stereotypical representations of Native Americans in popular culture.
In addition to her professional work representing Native Americans, Wesley has become an activist on several issues affecting her people. She has taken part in campaigns to eliminate race-based mascots for sports teams, as well as advocating for positive representations of Indigenous peoples.
Wesley is often quoted by her social media name of "Chahta Summer." She was featured in the National Congress of American Indian's 2014 #ProudToBe project.
In August 2014, Wesley criticized the Choctaw Nation's inviting Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin to participate in their annual Labor Day Festival, stating: “Mary Fallin has demonstrated to not be an ally to Native tribes, yet has been chosen to not only appear at Choctaw Fest, but to unveil a statue in honor of our women . . .As a Choctaw woman, I am appalled that she is being given a platform for her insincere pandering and her participation in the unveiling causes the statue to lose all honor to me. Further, I think this sends the wrong message to Indian Country regarding the Choctaw Nation's priorities and loyalties. Fallin's participation implies that our Nation condones her anti-Native policies.” As a result of the social media protests, the tribe pulled it's announcement about the Fallin appearance from its website and all mention of the appearance was removed from Fallin's social media accounts. In the end, Fallin made an appearance at the festival to sign a tribal tag compact, and left without participating in the honors she had previously been invited to.
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