Governor Wassana Selects Hershel Gorham as Lt. Governor

Hershel Gorham has served as attorney for the Office of Tribal Attorney under the Executive Branch since January 2018. (Submitted photo)

(CONCHO, OK) Governor Wassana has selected his General Counsel, Hershel Gorham to serve as Lt. Governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes for the remainder of his term. Mr. Gorham has been serving as the General Counsel for the Tribes since January 2018. During his tenure as General Counsel, Mr. Gorham has overseen the Office of Tribal Attorney and the Department of Justice while serving as the chief legal representative and advisor to the Executive Office. Mr. Gorham and his legal team has helped the Tribes get several of the Tribes fee land placed into trust status that are key to the Tribes long term economic development plans. 

Gorham has also been serving on the Cheyenne and Arapaho Community Development Corporation (CACDC) as Ex-Officio Director which was recently notified by the U.S. Treasury that their SSBCI application and allocation of $2.5 million has been approved.  Gorham was recently approved by the El Reno City Council to serve as a Commissioner on its Municipal Planning Commission and he was recently nominated and approved to serve with the Oklahoma Indian Legal Services (OILS) as a Board Member. Gorham is an Arapaho elder of the Tribes as well as a veteran who reached the rank of Captain prior to receiving an honorable discharge. During his time in the military, Gorham served on a deployment to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Mr. Gorham also holds a Master of Science degree in Human Resources, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree as well as his Juris Doctor (JD) of Law degree. “It’s an honor to serve as the Lt. Governor under Governor Reggie Wassana. Lt. Governor Miles passing was unexpected to all of us and he will forever be missed. Moving forward, we are prepared to work on the tribal priorities which benefit the tribal membership,” stated Gorham. 

Mr. Gorham has been intricate in helping initiate our business economic development endeavors and will be helpful in keeping all of our current plans and progress moving forward. With the remaining two years of my administration, we won’t have to miss a step in our progress.  This selection should help us save many hours of teaching someone our schedule, thus not delaying any of our projects.

Mr. Gorham is the son of the late Ruby Friday Gorham and William Gorham who resides in Georgia. His grandmother is the late Pearl Friday. He has five children and two grandchildren. 

“It is a great honor to serve with Hershel Gorham, the wealth of knowledge he brings will be beneficial to the Tribes. My administration plans to continue progressing, working positively with our Legislators, and keeping our tribal membership our priority,” stated Governor Wassana. 

Released by the Office of the Governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes