Michelle Cooke is a senior staff writer for Chickasaw Press and a Chickasaw citizen. She has worked for the Chickasaw Nation since 2007, where her focus has been writing about, teaching, and researching Chickasaw history, language, and culture. She is the author of Protecting Our People: Chickasaw Law Enforcement in Indian Territory, published by Chickasaw Press in 2019. Her work has also appeared in The Journal of Chickasaw History and Culture, Chokma: Chickasaw Magazine, and the Chickasaw Basic Language workbook series. She studied English at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, and holds a master’s degree in that subject.