Wes Nofire facts for kids

John Wesley "Wes" Nofire was born on April 30, 1986. He is a politician from the Cherokee Nation and the United States. He used to be a professional heavyweight boxer. Since 2023, he has served as the Oklahoma Native American Affairs Liaison. During his boxing career, he was known as "The Cherokee Warrior." Nofire was also a member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council from 2019 to 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early Life

John Wesley Nofire was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, on the Cherokee Nation Reservation. His parents are Sherman and Annette Nofire.

Wes grew up in the Welling area. He went to Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah. This school is for Native American students. It is run by the Cherokee Nation. In 2004, Nofire was on the school's State Champion Basketball team.

Boxing Career

Nofire started boxing in 2007 to stay fit. As an amateur boxer, he won the Oklahoma State Champion title. This was in the Super Heavyweight Division. He then went to the 2010 National Golden Gloves tournament. He represented the Kansas-Oklahoma region there.

In 2011, Nofire moved to Miami, Florida. There, he met John David Jackson, a former world champion. Jackson saw Nofire's natural speed and talent. He encouraged Nofire to become a professional boxer. Nofire had his first professional heavyweight fight on August 26, 2011. He won by knocking out his opponent in the first round.

Nofire Entertainment

In 2013, Nofire started his own company. It was called Nofire Entertainment Corporation. This company promoted boxing events. Their first event was "Cherokee Fight Club" in 2013. It featured ten fights in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Retiring from Boxing

Wes Nofire's last professional fight was on June 10, 2018. He fought against Gerald Washington. Nofire was 32 years old at the time. He had won 20 fights and lost only one before this match. The fight lasted 10 rounds. Washington won the fight by decision. This was Nofire's last boxing match.

Political Career

Cherokee Nation Tribal Council

The Cherokee Nation Tribal Council is a group of seventeen members. They make laws for the tribal government. In December 2018, Nofire decided to run for a seat on the council.

Campaign

Nofire ran for the District 3 seat. He was one of seven candidates in the election. On June 1, 2019, he received the most votes. This meant he moved on to a runoff election in July. He faced Debra Proctor in the runoff. Nofire won the runoff election. He received 63.75% of the votes.

Time on Council

During his time on the tribal council, Nofire often spoke about the tribal sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation. This means the right of the tribe to govern itself. Some of his ideas were not popular with other leaders. For example, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. disagreed with some of Nofire's statements.

2022 Congressional Campaign

In 2022, Nofire ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He wanted to represent Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district. He was one of sixteen candidates in the Republican primary election. During his campaign, Nofire said that a court decision called McGirt v. Oklahoma was a "threat to Oklahomans." This decision recognized that a large part of eastern Oklahoma is Native American reservation land. Some Cherokee Nation officials disagreed with Nofire's comments. He did not win enough votes to move on to the next round of the election.

2023 Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Campaign

Nofire also ran for Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 2023. He announced his plan to run with Ryan Dirteater as his deputy chief. However, Dirteater later decided not to run. Nofire filed his election papers alone. He lost the election to the current Principal Chief, Chuck Hoskin Jr..

Oklahoma Native American Affairs Liaison

On September 5, 2023, Governor Kevin Stitt chose Wes Nofire for a new role. Nofire became the Native American Affairs Liaison for Oklahoma. This job involves working with Native American tribes. Some Cherokee Nation leaders were not happy with this choice. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. called it "disappointing." The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes also voted to express their concern. They felt the position was not effective under Governor Stitt.

Electoral History