2026 Circle of Honor -
Honoring Judge Greg Bigler
TULSA, Okla. --- Tulsa City-County Library’s American Indian Resource Center will induct Judge Gregory H. Bigler into the American Indian Circle of Honor during a special presentation at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St.
Bigler, Euchee, enrolled with the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, is a tribal judge and lawyer who exclusively represents Native American tribes. He currently serves as the chief district judge at the Sac and Fox Nation, district judge at the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, chief judge for the Court of Appeals for the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, appellate judge at the Mashantucket Pequot Nation, Quapaw Nation Supreme Court justice, and Supreme Court judge for the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma. He previously served as district court judge for the Muscogee Nation during the historic McGirt v. Oklahoma decision, attorney general for the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, the first district court judge for the Prairie Band Potawatomi and attorney general of the Sac and Fox Nation.
More recently, Bigler has worked on implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and facilitated the translation of the declaration into the Muscogee language. He has also worked with several tribes to implement the special criminal jurisdiction allowed under the Violence Against Women Act.
An active member of the Polecat Euchee Ceremonial Grounds, Bigler has been deeply involved in Euchee language revitalization. In the 1990s, he founded the Oklahoma Native Language Association and organized its annual Native Language Use Conference. His efforts to start Euchee language classes has inspired immersion programs that continue to create new speakers today.
Bigler is an accomplished author and scholar. His works include “Rabbit Decolonizes the Forest: Stories From the Euchee Reservation” and the law review articles “Foundations of Tribal Society: Art, Dreams, and the Last Old Woman” and “Traditional Jurisprudence and Protection of Our Society: A Jurisgenerative Tail.”
Given in even-numbered years, the Circle of Honor recognizes an American Indian leader whose achievements and contributions enrich the lives of others and preserve American Indian culture and legacy. Recipients receive a $15,000 cash prize sponsored by the Maxine & Jack Zarrow Family Foundation. Previous Circle of Honor inductees include John Herrington (2024), Archie Mason (2022), Walter Echo-Hawk (2020), Dr. Henrietta Mann (2018), Sam Proctor (2016), Ruthe Blalock Jones (2014), Kirke Kickingbird (2012), Billy Mills (2010), Neal McCaleb (2008), Wilma Mankiller (2006) and Charles Chibitty (2004).
Learn more about the Circle of Honor and this year’s recipient at www.tulsalibrary.org/american-indian-circle-honor or call the AskUs line at 918-549-7323.
