Leslie McCoy grew up in Quapaw, Oklahoma, where she’s lived for most of her adult life. She was raised with 3 other siblings and was the second born of four children.  

She attended Quapaw High school, then later went to college at Northeastern Oklahoma College in Miami. She married her husband Pat McCoy, and she and her husband made the decision she wanted to raise her two daughters and two step-children as a primary focus. They’ve celebrated over 30 years of marriage. Her husband Pat is a Seneca Cayuga member, Leslie is not. Together they have 8 grandchildren, 4 of which are Seneca Cayuga Nation. 

In the year 2006, Leslie heard about a position that opened in the tribal offices and quickly sent in her resume. She was immediately hired as a receptionist for the tribal offices which were at the time located in Miami, Oklahoma. Her first job with the SCN tribal offices was over 14 years ago. 

She reflected back on her experience: “I was working for the tribe, maybe 2 months when they began to cross-train me to do tags and take over responsibilities as a backup employee for the enrollment office. Shortly thereafter, a job opened up to become a tag agent, so I took the job full time.”

Her talent and commitment to her work led her in 2012 to accept the position as Enrollment officer for SCN.  She has remained in the position with ongoing responsibilities of overseeing the tag office for the last 8 years.

McCoy shared what a great responsibility it was to work within the SCN enrollment office: 

“This role requires you to be forthright, you have to find integrity in doing what is right. It requires trustworthiness and the ability to be incredibly hard working while keeping up with the incessant demands of the position. I take pride in what I do with my job, and I know it’s positively impacting our lives, otherwise I wouldn’t have stayed in this position. I am super happy with the progress I’ve made within this office and organization.”

When asked what she enjoys most about her job, Mccoy shared: “I enjoy the members I get to work with, so many of them are so appreciative of what we can help them with. I’ve met so many incredible members through this role.”

When asked what is more challenging about her job? She shared: “I’ve had to untangle a lot of knots over the last 8 years.  Minimal records, no files, starting from scratch, building up the critical paperwork for each individual tribal members. This office is in the best shape its’ been in many years. Members have sent in paperwork that we need for their files, and it makes my job so much easier not having to dig for their paperwork in a pinch.”

She shared that tribal paperwork has had a profound impact on future generations, by allowing members to track their history and lineage of their own family tree, by keeping their family tree on file: “We had close to 5 cabinets in enrollment when I first started in this office, carrying data on each individual member. I now have over 20 cabinets that are full of tribal historical paperwork. Members have access to see their individual file at any given moment in our office, if they make an appointment.”

When asked what advice she has for our members, she emphasized:  “Please take a moment to keep all of your information updated for the tribal nation, so your future generations can be impacted positively.”

Leslie McCoy, wants to be remembered as: “A woman who advocated and worked diligently and passionately on behalf of the tribal members. I want to be able to see every eligible member enrolled who is entitled to be a Seneca Cayuga member. I want to see greater unity and patience amongst our tribe during our growing process.”