The Right Reverend

William C. Wantland
Bishop of Eau Claire
ChurchAnglican Church in North America
DioceseEau Claire
In office1980–1999
Other post(s)Assisting Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth
Personal details
Born (1934-04-11) April 11, 1934 (age 89)
Edmond, Oklahoma

William Charles Wantland (born April 14, 1934) is an American Anglican Bishop. He is a former Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire.[1]

Biography

Wantland was born in Edmond, Oklahoma.[2] He is of Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw descent. In 1973 Wantland, his, wife, and their children were declared citizens of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma by adoption.[3]

Prior to becoming a member of the clergy, Wantland was a practicing attorney. He served as municipal judge of Seminole, Oklahoma and on the Seminole City Council. He also served as vice-mayor of Seminole. He was attorney general for the Seminole Nation from 1969 to 1972 and from 1975 to 1977.[4] In 1971, Wantland was the executive director of Seminole Housing Authority, and he served as its attorney general from 1971 until 1977.[4]

Upon the advice of the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, Wantland became a worker-priest at his local church. He later became a full-time priest.

Wantland became Bishop of the Diocese of Eau Claire in 1980. During that time, he was honored by the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. He was embraced as one their own and was given the name 'Manido Nigani', meaning "He who stands forth in the Spirit", referencing his position as an Episcopal bishop.

After retiring from the Diocese of Eau Claire in 1999, Wantland helped to form the Anglican Church in North America. He was a founding member of the ACNA House of Bishops and helped write the ACNA Constitution and Canons. Wantland also serves as Assisting Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.[5] He became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Seminole Nation in 2011.

Additionally, Wantland has been a member of the faculty at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and Seminole State College. He is also a published author of a number of books.

Education

Family

Charles W. Wantland, Wantland's grandfather

References

  1. ^ The Gamma-Kappa Fraternity-The University of Oklahoma-Bill Wantland '53
  2. ^ "Seminole Nation, OK: Anglican Bishop Becomes First Chief Justice of the Seminole Nation Supreme Court". Virtue Online.org. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  3. ^ The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (September 22, 1973). 73-10 A Resolution Declaring William C. Wantland, his Wife and Children, Citizens of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma by Adoption (PDF). Resolutions of the General Council September 1969-December 1979 (Report). Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via University of Oklahoma Libraries.
  4. ^ a b Mulroy, Kevin (2016). The Seminole Freedmen: A History. Race and Culture in the American West. Vol. 2. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 389. ISBN 9780806155883. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "The Bishop and His Staff". The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
Anglican Communion titles Preceded byStanley Hamilton Atkins IV Bishop of Eau Claire 1980–1999 Succeeded byKeith Bernard Whitmore
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