David Barnett was born in Ohio and survived removal from Ohio to Kansas. Serving on the tribal council from the mid-1860s, Barnett worked with Chief John Wilson to expose the fraud of Indian Agent C.C. Hutchinson and to defend the Tribe’s rights to the lands donated for the founding of Ottawa University. He traveled to Washington, D.C. to advance this cause, and he continued to serve on tribal council following removal from Kansas to Indian Territory.

During his tenure as chief, education was a central focus of Barnett’s leadership, and the Tribe donated $700 to support the Ottawa Mission School. The school, located on the Ottawa reserve, enrolled more than thirty students and maintained a forty-acre school farm. Barnett served the tribal judge following his term as chief.