The first -- and only -- Native American on a winning presidential ticket was Charles Curtis, the thirty-first vice president of the United States.

Curtis was Kaw, Osage and Potawatomi. He grew up on the Kaw Reservation in Kansas and stayed in Kansas after the federal government forced the tribe to Oklahoma.

Curtis went on to serve in the House, where he was chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, and later the Senate. According to USA Today, he described himself as "one-eighth Kaw Indian and 100% Republican."

Curtis drafted legislation that today would likely be seen as negative to tribal interests. And despite his high-ranking office, he wasn't allowed ot manage his own Indian allotment.

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Kaw Indian preceded Obama on presidential ticket (USA Today 6/6)