Victoria (Judy) Brugh is the elected representative for the Four Bears District and the only woman seated on the Tribal Business Council. She is of Mandan-Arikara descent, and is the daughter of David and Margaret Little Swallow, originally from the Short River, or the old Red Butte area; east of what is now Twin Buttes.

Judy moved with her family in 1953 to the Four Bears area west of New Town, after the Garrison Dam backwaters flooded the family's old homestead. At that time, the Four Bears Community was comprised of only nineteen families - it has since grown to over several hundred head-of-households. She attended grammar school at Wahpeton Indian School and later graduated from New Town High School. She was a Harvard-Radcliff Summer Exchange student prior to enrolling at Black Hills State College, Spearfish, South Dakota. She holds a Bachelor's of Science, and two Masters degrees; a Masters of Science in Business Management and a Masters of Science in Business Administration from the University of Mary, Bismarck, North Dakota.

She is a child of the Flint Knife Clan, and a member of the Coyote, or Three Clan. She was given the Mandan name of Woman Goes Out, who is her great-great grandmother, the wife to Bears Ghost and the daughter of Paints Up (Mandan) and the Arikara Chief White Shield, after whom the White Shield Community is named. She is married to Robert "Bob" Brugh, formerly of Mandaree. The couple has three adult children and six grandchildren.

Judy has always said that because most of her blood relatives are from Twin Buttes and White Shield, because she grew up in the original Four Bears community, and that her parents' homestead and that of her husband's were in Mandaree where she spent many years, and that because she attended school in New Town, she is really representative of all the reservation's communities! Her roots are deep on the reservation, where she has lived and worked here all of her life.

Judy's outstanding leadership has been continually displayed throughout the years in both her professional and personal life. Her civic contributions include serving three consecutive elected terms as the elected treasurer of the Four Bears Community, and two elected terms as Vice Chairman of the Four Bears Community. She has served two elected terms as a commissioner for the Fort Berthold Housing Authority and has received commendations from the Department of Housing and Urban Development Native American Indian Program for outstanding service as a housing manager.

She has also received numerous monetary awards for outstanding service while employed with other tribal entities. She was twice selected as Employee of the Month by the Four Bears Casino and Lodge while serving as the Human Resources vocational counselor and administrative assistant to the co-general manager and the Gaming Enterprise Board.

Councilwoman Brugh has served as a licensed foster parent for the State of North Dakota and the Three Affiliated Tribes for fifteen years, and has served on the Casey Family Program's parent advisory board. She is also a certified alcohol-drug screening technician, and remains a strong advocate for promoting sobriety and wellness in the individual tribal member.

Judy's past employment history includes serving as the office manager to the Tribal Treasurer and Recording Secretary and as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Chairman of the Tribe from 1998 through 2006. She served as the Assistant Executive Director of the Fort Berthold Housing Authority, and as the Housing Rental Supervisor and Housing Manager from 1983 to 1995. Prior to that, she was the administrative assistant to the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation of the United Tribes Employment Training Center, known today as the United Tribes Technical College.

Councilwoman Brugh follows in the steps of her father, David, who served as Vice Chairman of the Tribe from 1960 through 1962.

"His boots truly left big tracks, says Judy, "and I hope to give back to the Tribe a measure of the opportunities I have been given that have enabled me to reach beyond the challenges of growing up in economically depressed communities and to help reach and lead others towards a wellness and balance of mind and spirit in a way that would make my father proud."

Councilwoman Brugh remains a strong advocate of preserving the culture and languages of the Three Tribes; state-of-the-art medical care; continued education; quality housing and environmental-friendly economical development that would protect and preserve our natural resources and still allow our people to thrive and grow beyond constricting poverty.