Joyce Dugan

Joyce Dugan (born c.1952, Cherokee) is an American educator, school administrator, and politician; she served as the 24th Principal Chief of the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (1995-1999), based in Western North Carolina. She was the first woman to be elected to this office, and the only one.

Biography Joyce Conseen Dugan was born in Western North Carolina to a Cherokee mother, who worked as a maid, and a white father from Tennessee. She said she was called "the white Indian" when growing up but was reared in Cherokee culture and enrolled as a member in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She attended local public schools. She studied at Western Carolina University, earning her BS (1974) and MS (1981) in Education.

After first working as a teacher's aide, Dugan started her teaching career in the Cherokee Central Schools after earning her undergraduate degree.

After Dugan built a strong record as an educator, in 1990, the EBCI appointed her as superintendent of the Cherokee Central Schools.

With B. Lynne Harlan, Dugan wrote a book, The Cherokee (2002), which describes the history and cultural practices of her tribe. It was published by the EBCI.

In 2009 Dugan returned to the tribe's education system when she was appointed again as superintendent of the Cherokee Central Schools. She served until 2011.

Dugan has been active in other community groups, serving on "the Cherokee Indian Hospital Governing Board, the Development Foundation Board of Directors, the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, and the Board of Directors for Mainspring [Conservation] (formerly Land Trust for the Little Tennessee)." In 1997, she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Western Carolina University. That year she was listed on WCU's Honor Roll of Peak Performers from the College of Education and Allied Professions. In 2006, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill for her efforts in cultural preservation. In 2026, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Education from Western Carolina University for her lifelong commitment to education to the Cherokee people.