A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Dwight W. Birdwell was born in Amarillo, Texas, in January 1948. He grew up in the predominantly Cherokee Indian community of Bell in Adair County, Oklahoma. He attended Bell Grade School for eight years and graduated from Stilwell High School. He entered the U. S. Army in May 1966, serving 10 months in Korea and 16 months in Vietnam. For his service in Vietnam he was awarded two Silver Stars, A Bronze Star for meritorious service, two Purple Hearts, and a Good Conduct Medal. In 2022, one of the Silver Stars was upgraded to the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Birdwell returned home to Oklahoma in December 1968. He enrolled at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, graduating with academic distinction from both NSU and the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Birdwell served on the Judicial Appeals Tribunal (Supreme Court) of the Cherokee Nation from 1987 to 1999 and currently serves as a Cherokee Nation Gaming Commissioner. He is a practicing attorney and carries an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest level of professional excellence and ethical standards for an attorney to receive. Birdwell has been honored by the Oklahoma Bar Association and Board of Trial Advocates. He has been inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame and the Native American Hall of Fame.

Birdwell and his wife Virginia of 57 years have two children and two grandchildren.