Joe Crittenden

Joe Crittenden (né Stanley Joe Crittenden; born 1944) is a Cherokee Nation politician who has served as the Cherokee Nation Secretary of Veteran Affairs since 2019. He previously served on the tribal council, as deputy chief, and Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 2011.

Career Crittenden was elected to the Cherokee Nation tribal council in 2003. In 2011 he was elected deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation, but a dispute in the election for principal chief requiring a special election required him to briefly serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. After Bill John Baker was elected, he succeeded Crittenden who resumed his position as deputy chief. In 2019, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled that Crittenden could not run for a third consecutive term in 2019, even though he did not serve the entirety of his first term due to serving as acting Principal Chief, because the Cherokee Constitution limits elected officials to two consecutive terms. His term ended on August 14, 2019.