Profile: Chief Kelly Haney
Kelly Haney serves God as an artist, politician, and chief of the Seminole Nation.
"It’s not the color of the balloon that determines now high it goes, but what’s inside."
Enoch Kelly Haney, chief of the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma, was "born a Methodist."
 "I was born into the United Methodist Church, just like being born into being Indian and American," he says. Haney's grandfather was one of the first Native ministers in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference and his father was also a United Methodist minister.
Haney was elected chief of the 14,000-member Seminole Nation in 2005 and before that served as a state legislator for 22 years. He is also a professional artist who created "The Guardian," a three-ton, nearly 22-feet-tall bronze statue that is on top of the Oklahoma City state capitol building dome.
"My faith is actually the foundation of my life," he says. His faith has been tested many times he says, but none more than when his 18-year-old son died the day before his high school graduation.
"I relied on my faith in God to get me through that time period. I pray regularly - morning and night."
Another foundation in his life is his Seminole culture. "Much of the understanding I have about life comes from my understanding of native values."
 Haney grew up in the traditional way, speaking the Seminole language at home, at church and among friends. "The songs that the church sang were in our native language, the prayer and the sermon."
"Today, it's much different ... the language is slowly disappearing. I may be the last generation of Seminole that maintain the language."
Haney has had a variety of experiences in his life, and the people who helped shape his life are probably just as varied, he says.
"And that includes my grandparents, my parents, my brothers and sisters, my friends all over the world. My life is influenced by everyone and everything that my life encompasses."
He has six children, six grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren and has strong family values. "I have six wonderful children, they're doing very well and accomplished in education and professional fields."
Haney credits The United Methodist Church for the direction his life has taken. "It was through a basic Methodist scholarship that I was able to go to school. The church really gave guidance to many of us who are professionals today."
 "It was The United Methodist Church that gave me confidence, gave me a spiritual foundation. It was The United Methodist Church that gave me practical assistance to go to school and to give me an opportunity once I was out of school to do other things."
Haney attends two United Methodist churches: Norman First American and Seminole Hitchitee United Methodist Church. Norman is led by a Seminole pastor, and most of the members of the congregation are professionals, he says. He gets his "real spiritual deep down feeling of my spiritualism," from the other.
"The word Hitchitee is really the name of a particular tribe that belongs to the Seminole Nation. That is my historic church. The language of our people is no longer spoken in the sermons, very few times in our prayers, but a lot of singing still exists using the native language."
Living as a native person is like walking on two paths, he says. "One foot is in the Indian world and the culture from which I come. The other is the world in which I live. And I think both of those paths are good paths. Many native people have learned to live in both worlds."
"Public service is my ministry. And if I wanted to be wealthy, I would probably choose another profession. But to me, being in public service is what my life was intended to be."
The following people contributed to this Profile:
Audio story by Mike Hickcox; print story by Kathy Gilbert.
UMC.org Profiles are produced by Pam Price, 615-742-5405.
Kelly's Spiritual Gifts
Learn more about your spiritual gifts
Kelly's Recommended Resources
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
God and the Art of Seeing by Richard Kidd and Graham Sparkes
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