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Wilma Mankiller

May 01, 2024

Wilma Pearl Mankiller (Cherokee: ᎠᏥᎳᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ, romanized: Atsilasgi Asgayadihi; November 18, 1945 – April 6, 2010) was a Native American activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, she lived on her family's allotment in Adair County, Oklahoma, until the age of 11, when her family relocated to San Francisco as part of a federal government program to urbanize Indigenous Americans. After high school, she married a well-to-do Ecuadorian and raised two daughters. Inspired by the social and political movements of the 1960s, Mankiller became involved in the Occupation of Alcatraz and later participated in the land and compensation struggles with the Pit River Tribe. For five years in the early 1970s, she was employed as a social worker, focusing mainly on children's issues.

Wilma Mankiller
Mankiller in 2001
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
In office
December 14, 1985 – August 14, 1995
Preceded byRoss Swimmer
Succeeded byJoe Byrd
Personal details
Born
Wilma Pearl Mankiller

(1945-11-18)November 18, 1945
Tahlequah, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedApril 6, 2010(2010-04-06) (aged 64)
near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Hugo Olaya
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1974)​
Charlie Soap
​
(m. 1986)​
Children2
EducationSkyline College
San Francisco State University (BA)
University of Arkansas

When Mankiller returned to Oklahoma in 1976, the Cherokee Nation hired her as an economic stimulus coordinator. With her expertise at preparing documentation, she became a successful grant writer, and by the early 1980s was directing the newly created Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation. As Director she designed and supervised innovative community projects allowing rural citizens to identify their own challenges and, through their labor, participate in solving them. Her project in Bell, Oklahoma, was featured in the movie The Cherokee Word for Water, directed by Charlie Soap and Tim Kelly. In 2015, the movie was selected as the top American Indian film of the past 40 years by the American Indian Film Institute.[1] Her project in Kenwood received the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Certificate of National Merit.

Her management ability came to the notice of the incumbent Principal Chief, Ross Swimmer, who invited her to run as his deputy in the 1983 tribal elections. When the duo won, she became the first elected woman to serve as Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She was elevated to Principal Chief when Swimmer took a position in the federal administration of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, serving until 1995. During her administration, the Cherokee government built new health clinics, created a mobile eye-care clinic, established ambulance services, and created early education, adult education and job training programs. She developed revenue streams, including factories, retail stores, restaurants and bingo operations, while establishing self-governance, allowing the tribe to manage its own finances.

Mankiller returned to her activist role as an advocate working to improve the image of Native Americans and combat the misappropriation of native heritage, by authoring books including a bestselling autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People, and giving numerous lectures on health care, tribal sovereignty, women's rights and cancer awareness after retiring from politics. Throughout her life, she had serious health problems, including polycystic kidney disease, myasthenia gravis, lymphoma and breast cancer, and needed two kidney transplants. She died in 2010 from pancreatic cancer, and was honored with many local, state and national awards, including the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 2021 it was announced that Mankiller's likeness would appear on the quarter-dollar coin[2] as a part of the United States Mint's "American Women Quarters" program.[3]

Early life (1945–1955) edit

Wilma Pearl Mankiller was born on November 18, 1945, in the Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to Clara Irene (née Sitton) and Charley Mankiller.[4][5] Her father was a full-blooded Cherokee,[4][6] whose ancestors had been forced to relocate to Indian Territory from Tennessee over the Trail of Tears in the 1830s.[6][7][8] Her mother descended from Dutch-Irish and English immigrants[9] who had first settled in Virginia and North Carolina in the 1700s. Her maternal grandparents came to Oklahoma in the early 1900s from Georgia and Arkansas, respectively.[4][Notes 1] The surname "Mankiller", Asgaya-dihi (Cherokee syllabary: ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ) in the Cherokee language, refers to a traditional Cherokee military rank, similar to a captain or major,[11] or a shaman with the ability to avenge wrongs through spiritual methods.[12] Alternative spellings are Outacity[13] and Ontassetè.[14] Wilma's given Cherokee name, meaning flower, was A-ji-luhsgi.[15] When Charley and Irene married in 1937,[16] they settled on Charley's father, John Mankiller's[Notes 2] allotment, known as "Mankiller Flats", near Rocky Mountain in Adair County, Oklahoma, which he had received in 1907 as part of the government policy of forced assimilation for Native American people.[18][19][20]

Wilma had five older siblings: Louis Donald "Don", Frieda Marie, Robert Charles, Frances Kay and John David.[15] In 1948, when she was three, the family moved into a house built by her father, her uncle and her brother, Don, on the allotment of her grandfather John.[8][11] Her five other siblings, Linda Jean, Richard Colson, Vanessa Lou, James Ray and William Edward, were born over the next 12 years.[15] The small house had no electricity or plumbing[21] and they lived in "extreme poverty".[11] The family hunted and fished, maintaining a vegetable garden to feed themselves. They also grew peanuts and strawberries, which they sold.[15] Mankiller went to school through the fifth grade in a three-room schoolhouse, in Rocky Mountain.[22][23] The family spoke both English and Cherokee at home; even Mankiller's mother spoke Cherokee.[22] Her mother canned food and used flour sacks to make clothes for the children,[15][22] whom she immersed in Cherokee heritage. Though they joined the Baptist church, the children were wary of white congregants and customs, preferring to attend tribal ceremonial gatherings.[24] Family elders taught the children traditional stories.[25]

Relocation to San Francisco (1956–1976) edit

In 1955, a severe drought made it more difficult for the family to provide for itself.[26][27] As a part of the Indian termination policy, the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 provided assistance to relocate Native families to urban areas. Agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs promised better jobs and living conditions for families that agreed to move.[19] In 1956, when she was 11,[22] her father Charley was denied a loan from the BIA,[28] and decided that moving to a city where he would have a regular income and a steady job would be good for his family.[27][29] The family chose California because Irene's mother lived in Riverbank. Selling their belongings, they took a train from Stilwell, Oklahoma, to San Francisco.[28] Though they were promised an apartment in the city, there were no apartments available when the Mankillers arrived. They were housed in a squalid hotel in the Tenderloin District for several weeks.[30] Even when the family moved to Potrero Hill, where both her father and brother Don found work, the family struggled financially.[23] They had few Native American neighbors, creating alienation from their tribal identities.[31][32]

Mankiller and her siblings enrolled in school, but it was difficult as the other students made fun of her surname[33][34] and teased her about her clothes and the way she spoke.[23] Mankiller withdrew from school due to her classmates' treatment.[23] Within a year, the family had saved money and were able to move to Daly City, but Mankiller still felt alienated and ran away from home, going to her grandmother's farm in Riverbank. Wilma continued to run away despite her grandmother made her return to Potrero so her parents decided to let her live on the farm for a year.[35] By the time she returned, the family had moved again and were living in Hunters Point, a neighborhood riddled with crime, drugs and gangs.[33][36] Though she had regained her confidence during her year away, Mankiller still felt isolated and began to become involved in the activities of the San Francisco Indian Center.[36] She remained indifferent to school, where she struggled with math and science, but graduated from high school in June 1963.[36][37]

As soon as she finished school, Mankiller found a clerical job in a finance company and moved in with her sister Frances.[37][38] That summer, at a Latin dance, she met Hector Hugo Olaya de Bardi, an Ecuadorian college student from a well-to-do family, and the two began dating. Mankiller found him sophisticated, and despite her parents' discomfort with the union, the two married in Reno, Nevada, on November 13, 1963, and then honeymooned in Chicago. Returning to California, they moved into an apartment in the Mission District, where 10 months later their daughter Felicia was born. They then moved to a house in a nearby neighborhood and in 1966 had a second daughter, Gina. While Olaya continued with his schooling at San Francisco State University and worked for Pan American Airlines, Mankiller was busy raising their daughters.[37][39] Olaya saw his role as the family's provider, leaving his wife at home to bring up the children. But Mankiller was restless and returned to school, enrolling in classes at Skyline Junior College. For the first time, she enjoyed school and took only courses that interested her.[40]

Activism edit

 
Alcatraz Occupation "Welcome to Indian Land" graffiti

In 1964, a small group of Red Power activists occupied Alcatraz Island for a few hours.[41][42] In the late 1960s, a group of students from the University of California at Berkeley, Los Angeles and Santa Cruz, along with students at San Francisco State, began protesting against the Vietnam War and in favor of civil rights for ethnic minorities and women.[43][44] Among the groups that sprang up in the period was the American Indian Movement (AIM), which in San Francisco was centered around the activities at the San Francisco Indian Center.[44] Also meeting there was the United Bay Indian Council, which operated as an umbrella organization for 30 separate groups representing people of different tribal affiliations. In October 1969, the Center burned, and the loss of their meeting place created a bond between administrators and student activists, who combined their efforts to bring the plight of urban Native Americans to the public eye with the reoccupation of Alcatraz.[45]

The occupation inspired Mankiller to become involved in civil rights activism.[41][46] Prior to the November takeover of the island, she had not been involved in either AIM or the United Bay Council. She began to meet with other Native Americans who had participated in the Indian Center, becoming active in the groups supporting the Occupation.[47] While she did visit Alcatraz, most of her work focused on fundraising and support, gathering supplies of blankets, food and water for those on the island.[48] Soon after the Occupation began, Charley Mankiller was diagnosed with kidney disease, which caused Mankiller to discover that she shared polycystic kidney disease with her father.[49] In between her activism, school and family obligations, she spent as much time with him as she was able.[50] The Occupation lasted 19 months,[51] and during that time, Mankiller learned organizational skills and how to do paralegal research.[46] She had been encouraged by other activists to continue her studies, and began planning a career.[40][46]

Social work edit

On her father's death in 1971, the Mankiller family returned to Oklahoma for his burial. When she returned to California, she transferred to San Francisco State University[46] in 1972 and began to focus her classes on social welfare.[52] Against her husband's wishes, she bought her own car and began to seek independence, taking her daughters to Native American events along the West Coast.[53] On her travels, she met members of the Pit River Tribe in Northern California, near Burney, and joined their campaign for compensation with the Indian Claims Commission and Pacific Gas and Electric Company for lands illegally taken from the tribe during the California Gold Rush.[54][55][56] Over the next five years, she assisted the tribe in raising funds for its legal defense and helped prepare documentation for their claim, gaining experience in international and treaty law.[57]

Closer to home, Mankiller founded East Oakland's Native American Youth Center, where she served as director. Locating a building, she called for volunteers to paint and help draft educational programs to help youth learn about their heritage, enjoying overwhelming support from the community.[58] In 1974, Mankiller and Olaya divorced and she moved with her two daughters to Oakland. Taking a position as a social worker with the Urban Indian Resource Center, she worked on programs conducting research on child abuse and neglect,[59] foster care, and adoption of Native children. Recognizing that most indigenous children were placed with families with no knowledge of Native traditions, she worked on legislation with other staff and attorneys to prevent children from being removed from their culture. The law, which eventually passed as the Indian Child Welfare Act, made it illegal to place Native children in non-Native families.[60]

Return to Oklahoma edit

 
Map of contemporary Cherokee Nation Tribal Jurisdiction Area (red)

Community development (1976–1983) edit

In 1976, Mankiller's mother returned to Oklahoma, prompting Mankiller to move as well with her two daughters.[61] Initially, she was unable to find work and moved back to California for six months.[62] By the fall, she was back in Oklahoma,[63] and built a small house near her mother's in Mankiller Flats.[64] After doing volunteer work for the Cherokee Nation,[65] Mankiller was hired in 1977 to work on a program for young Cherokees to study environmental science.[62][66] That same year she enrolled in additional classes at Flaming Rainbow University in Stilwell, Oklahoma, completing her Bachelor of Science degree in social sciences with an emphasis on Indian Affairs, thanks to a correspondence course under a program offered by the Union for Experimental Colleges in Washington, D.C.[67][68][69] She enrolled in graduate courses in community development at the University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville,[70][71] while continuing to work in the tribal offices as an economic stimulus coordinator.[72] She worked on home health care, the Indian child welfare protocols, language services, a senior citizens program and a youth shelter.[73]

On November 9, 1979, on her way back to Tahlequah from Fayetteville, Mankiller's vehicle was struck by an oncoming car. Sherry Morris, one of Mankiller's closest friends, was driving the other vehicle and died in the crash.[66][67][74] Mankiller suffered broken ribs as well as breaks in her left leg and ankle, and both her face and right leg were crushed. Initially doctors thought that she would not regain the ability to walk. After 17 operations and plastic surgery to reconstruct her face, she was released from the hospital able to walk with crutches.[67][74] While still in recovery from the accident, three months after the collision, Mankiller began to notice a loss of muscle coordination. She dropped things, was unable to grip items, her voice tired after a few moments of speaking.[66] Doctors thought that the problems were related to the accident, but one day while watching a muscular dystrophy telethon, Mankiller thought her symptoms sounded similar. She called the muscular dystrophy center, was referred to a specialist, and was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. In November 1980, she returned to the hospital, underwent more surgeries and began a course of chemotherapy, which lasted several years. She went back to work in December.[75]

She later said the car crash and its aftermath were life-changing, leading her to accept what she called "a Cherokee approach to life." In a 1993 interview on NPR, she said: "I think the Cherokee approach to life is being able to continually move forward with kind of a good mind and not focus on the negative things in your life and the negative things you see around you, but focus on the positive things and try to look at the larger picture and keep moving forward..[It] also taught me to look at the larger things in life rather than focusing on small things, and it's also awfully, awfully hard to rattle me after having faced my own mortality ... so the things I learned from those experiences actually enabled me to lead. Without those experiences, I don't think I would have been able to lead. I think I would have gotten caught up in a lot of nonsensical things."[76]

Mankiller's first community development program as a grant writer was for Bell, Oklahoma. By requiring community members to donate their time and labor to lay 16 miles of pipe for a shared water system, build houses, or work on building rehabilitation, the grant involved the community in self-improvement.[77] Working on the Bell project, Mankiller collaborated with Charlie Soap, who worked in the Indian Housing Authority and helped her supervise the venture.[78][79] The success of the program led to its use as a model for other grant programs for her own and other tribes.[80] In the midst of the Bell Project, in 1981, tribal chief Ross Swimmer promoted her as first director of a department she devised, the Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation.[81][82] Over the next three years, Mankiller raised millions of dollars for similar community development programs.[83] Her approach was one of self-help, which allowed citizens to identify their problems and gain control of the challenges they faced.[84] Impressed by her skill and results, Swimmer asked her to be his running mate for the next tribal election.[83]

Politics (1983–1995) edit

Deputy Chief (1983–1985) edit

In 1983, Mankiller, a Democrat, was selected as a running mate by Ross Swimmer, a Republican, in a bid for Swimmer's third consecutive term as principal chief.[85] Though they both wanted the tribe to become more self-sufficient, Swimmer felt the path was through developing tribal businesses, like hotels and agricultural enterprises. Mankiller wanted to focus on small rural communities, improving housing and health care.[86] Their differences on policy were not a key problem in the election, but Mankiller's gender was. She was surprised by the sexism she faced, as in traditional Cherokee society, families and clans were organized matrilineally.[87][88] Though traditionally women had not held titled positions in Cherokee government, they had a women's council which wielded considerable influence, and were responsible for training the tribal chief.[87] She received death threats, her tires were slashed, and a billboard with her likeness was burned. Swimmer nevertheless remained steadfast.[89][90][91][Notes 3] Swimmer won reelection against Perry Wheeler by a narrow margin, on the strength of absentee voters. Mankiller also won by absentee voters in a run-off election for the deputy chief post against Agnes Cowen[99] and became the first woman elected deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation.[91] Wheeler and Cowen demanded a recount and filed a suit with the Cherokee Judicial Appeals Tribunal and U. S. District Court alleging voting irregularities. Both tribal and federal courts ruled against Wheeler and Cowen.[100]

 
Cherokee Heritage Center

One of her main duties as deputy chief was to preside over the Tribal Council, the fifteen-member governing body for the Cherokee Nation. Though she assumed that the sexism of the campaign would end once the election was resolved, Mankiller quickly realized that she had little support in the council. Some members viewed her as a political enemy, while others discounted her because of her gender.[101][102] She chose to avoid involvement in tribal legislation to minimize the hostility to her election, instead concentrating on areas of government that the council did not control.[103] One of her first focus issues was on the full-blood/mixed-blood divide. Cherokees with non-Native ancestry had assimilated into American culture to a greater extent, while full-bloods maintained Cherokee language and culture. The two groups historically had been at odds, with much disagreement on development. By the time Mankiller was elected deputy, the mixed-blood faction focused on economic growth and favored non-Natives being hired to run Native businesses if they were more qualified. Full-bloods believed that such modernization would compromise Cherokee identity.[104] Mankiller, who supported a middle-of-the-road approach, expanded the Cherokee Heritage Center and the Institute for Cherokee Literacy.[105] She persuaded the tribal council to change the way that council members were elected so that rather than at-large candidates, potential members came from newly created districts. The change meant that urban areas with large populations no longer controlled the council membership.[106]

Principal Chief, partial term (1985–1986) edit

In 1985, Chief Swimmer resigned when appointed assistant secretary of the US Bureau of Indian Affairs.[70] Mankiller succeeded him as the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation,[Notes 4] when she was sworn into office on December 5, 1985.[115] To appease her detractors on the council, she did not attend council meetings, and stressed the separation between the executive and legislative branches of the government.[116] Almost immediately, the press coverage on Mankiller made her an international celebrity and improved the perception of Native Americans throughout the country.[116][117] In articles such as a November 1985 interview in People, Mankiller strove to show that Native cultural traditions of cooperation and respect for the environment made them role models for the rest of society.[117] In an interview with Ms., she pointed out that Cherokee women had been valued members of their communities before mainstream society imposed patriarchy upon the tribe. In presenting her critiques of Reagan administration policies that might diminish tribal self-determination or threaten their culture, she built relationships with various power brokers.[116] Because she lacked favor with the Tribal Council, she also used her access with the press to educate Cherokee voters on the goals of her administration and her desire to improve housing and health services.[118] Within five months of becoming chief, Mankiller's celebrity status resulted in her election that year as American Indian Woman of the Year, an honor bestowed by the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women, and her induction into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of New England and received a citation for leadership from Harvard University.[90][119][120]

By 1986, Mankiller and Charlie Soap's relationship had changed from a professional one to a personal one, leading to their engagement early in the year.[79] Not wanting to provoke calls for her to step down, they kept the relationship private until their marriage in October.[121] It nevertheless caused controversy, generating calls for Soap to resign from his position. He resigned, effective with the end of January 1987, which generated further criticism from Mankiller's opponents, who saw the delay as a tactic for Soap to qualify for retirement benefits.[120] Initially, Mankiller's negative experiences dissuaded her from seeking re-election, but after her opponents tried to persuade her not to run, she entered the race with Soap's support. She persuaded voters that the tribe could cooperate with state and federal governments to negotiate favorable terms to improve their opportunities.[121] Soap, as a full-blood Cherokee, was instrumental in taking her message to that faction and defusing the gender issue, by speaking in Cherokee with them about the traditional place of women in Cherokee society.[122][123] Focusing on budget cuts by the Reagan White House, she highlighted how reductions in funding for low-income housing, health and nutrition programs, and educational initiatives were affecting the tribe. While she recognized that economic development was a priority, Mankiller stressed that business development had to be balanced by addressing social problems.[124]

Weeks before the election, Mankiller was hospitalized for her kidney disease. Her opponents argued that she was medically unfit to lead the tribe.[122][125] Turnout was high and even though Mankiller won 45% of the vote, tribal law required 50% to avoid a run-off with Perry Wheeler.[123] She won the run-off, but within a week one of her supporters, who had been elected to the Tribal Council, died. The tribal election committee voted to nullify the absentee ballots for the new council membership, and Mankiller petitioned the Judicial Appeals Tribunal, which required a recount including the absentee voters. The council recount gave Mankiller's administration the majority and the seat was filled by a supporter of her policies.[122] Mankiller used the press surrounding her election to combat the negative stereotypes about Native people, stressing their cultural heritage and strengths. She was selected as Newsmaker of the Year by the Association for Women in Communications and as Ms. magazine's Woman of the Year for 1987, and was featured in the article "Celebration of Heroes" in Newsweek's July 1987 edition.[90][126]

Principal Chief, first elected term (1987–1991) edit

One of Mankiller's first initiatives was to lobby for maintaining the operation of the Talking Leaves Job Corps Center, which the U.S. Department of Labor had placed on a list for closure. Officials agreed to suspend the closure if she could find a suitable location. She recommended that the job center be housed in the financially insolvent motel, but initially the Tribal Council denied her permission. She was able to reverse their decision by promising to take the issue directly to a vote of the tribal members. She also expanded community development programs, using the Bell Project model, and in 1987 the Kenwood Project won the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Certificate of National Merit.[122] Announcing that the Cherokee government would not wholly fund the Heritage Center, she pressed the center to become more proactive in attracting tourists and generating income to pay for its own operational expenses.[127] When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 passed, Mankiller remained cautious about participating, though she acknowledged that other tribes had a right to do so. Concerned by research connecting gambling and crime, she did not endorse gaming for the Cherokee Nation. She also rejected requests for the tribe to store nuclear waste, given its potential to harm the environment.[128] Eventually, she changed her stance and bingo parlors became a major revenue source for the tribe.[129]

 
Segment of the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma

Founding the Private Industry Council, Mankiller brought government and private businesses together to analyze ways to generate economic growth in northeastern Oklahoma. She established employment training opportunities and programs that offered financial and technical expertise to tribal members who wanted to start their own small enterprises. She also backed the creation of a tribal electronic harness and cabling company, construction of a hydroelectric plant and a horticultural operation.[130] Another initiative launched soon after her installment was a claim of compensation from the U.S. government for misappropriating resources from the Arkansas River.[131] The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Choctaw Nation v. Oklahoma that the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations owned the banks and riverbed of the Arkansas River.[131][132] At issue was whether the tribes were entitled to be paid for the loss of access to coal, gas and oil deposits, which could no longer be extracted as the United States Army Corps of Engineers had rerouted the river during the construction of the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.[133] The Cherokee then sued the United States for compensation, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe was entitled to it,[134] though the claim was reversed by the Supreme Court.[135] The three tribes filed a claim in the United States Court of Federal Claims in 1989 alleging "mismanagement of tribal trust resources".[136]

In December 1988, Mankiller's leadership was recognized with a national award bestowed by the Independent Sector, an umbrella group for non-profit organizations. The John W. Gardner Leadership Award recognized not only her community development projects, but also her administration of Cherokee Nation Industries, which had seen profits soar to over $2 million.[137] In the middle of her first term, Mankiller was invited to the White House to meet with President Reagan to discuss Native peoples' grievances with his administration. Thinking that it was going to be a productive meeting, Mankiller, who had been chosen as one of the three spokespeople for the 16 invited chiefs, was disappointed that Reagan discounted their issues and merely reiterated his pledge for self-determination. Though she brushed off the meeting as a "photo opportunity" for the president, the publicity of the event further enhanced her image with the public.[122] The most significant development in her first full term was the negotiation with the State of Oklahoma for tax sharing on businesses operating on Cherokee lands. The compact, signed by Governor David Walters and leadership of all of the Five Civilized Tribes except the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, allowed the chiefs to collect state taxes and retain a portion of the revenues.[129]

In June 1990, Mankiller's kidney disease worsened and one of her kidneys failed. Her brother Don donated one of his kidneys, and she underwent a kidney transplant in July, returning to work within a few weeks.[90][138] While she was in Boston recuperating from the transplant, she met with officials from Washington, D.C., and signed an agreement for the Cherokee Nation to participate in a project that allowed the tribe to self-govern and assume responsibility for the use of federal funds.[139] This change in policy had come about because of allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Hearings on the matter resulted in amendments in 1988 to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, to allow ten tribes to participate in a pilot program spanning five years. Tribes received block grants and were allowed to tailor the use of funds based on local needs.[140] Further amendments in the early 1990s extended self-determination to the Indian Health Service.[141] Mankiller welcomed the initiative, which reinforced intergovernmental cooperation and increased self-determination.[142] During her first full administration, her government built new health clinics, created a mobile eye-care clinic and established ambulance services. They also created early education and adult education programs.[143] Mankiller was recognized with an honorary degree from Yale University in 1990[144] and from Dartmouth College in 1991.[145]

Around the same time, the contentious relationship with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians flared again. Under Swimmer, the Cherokee Nation had filed a lawsuit against the Keetoowah Band, which traditionally had allowed members to belong to both federally recognized tribes.[130] Mankiller had hoped to reconcile the differences between the two tribes, but the tax compact created controversy. The Keetoowah Band refused to allow the Cherokee Nation to collect taxes from its members[129] and began a policy of requiring their tribal members to withdraw from the Cherokee Nation, claiming to be the "true" tribe representing Cherokee people.[130] Mankiller, whose administration had established a district court to deal with the problem of Indian country being in federal jurisdiction rather than falling under state or local law enforcement, began a practice in late 1990 of negotiating cross-deputation agreements with law enforcement agencies and the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service. (Cross-deputation became formally authorized in April 1991).[129] Raids conducted by county officials and Cherokee Marshals on 14 smoke shops licensed by the Keetoowah Band were carried out in the fall of 1990. Officials of the band failed to obtain a restraining order against the Cherokee Nation and took their grievance to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Unable to resolve the matter, the federal courts stepped in and ruled that the smoke shops of the Keetoowah Band were not exempt from state taxes.[139]

Principal Chief, second elected term (1991–1995) edit

In March 1991, Mankiller announced her candidacy for the next election[146] and shortly thereafter was invited to meet with other Indian leaders at the White House with President George H. W. Bush. Bush's officials, unlike Reagan's, were receptive to input from tribal leaders, and Mankiller hoped that a new era of "government-to-government relationships" would follow.[147] In the June election, she won 83% of the vote.[146][148] One of her first actions was to participate in a conference on educational programs for Native Americans, where she strongly opposed centralizing Indian education. Similarly, she opposed legislation proposed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives to collect cigarette taxes on products sold at Indian smoke shops to non-Indians.[131] In the continuing battle over compensation for the loss of access to mineral rights owned by the tribe in the Arkansas River, Mankiller estimated that one-third of her time as chief was spent on trying to obtain a settlement.[149]

During the school term of 1991–1992, Mankiller's administration revived the tribal Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah.[70] Working with the American Association of University Women, she worked on a grant program to match Cherokee mentors with girls attending the boarding school. The mentors shadowed the girls through their schooling and provided guidance on career opportunities.[150] She also focused on issues of identity throughout her second term. Mankiller worked with tribal registrar Lee Fleming and a staff member Richard Allen to document groups which claimed Cherokee heritage, and they compiled a list of 269 associations throughout the country.[151] After the passage of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, which provided both civil and criminal penalties for non-Native artists who promoted their work as "Indian Art",[152] the tribe had the ability to certify artisans who could not prove their ancestry. In two highly publicized cases, involving Willard Stone and Bert Seabourn,[153][154][155] Stone was certified, but his family asked for his certification to be removed, and Seabourn was not certified as an artist, but instead as a "goodwill ambassador".[156]

Mankiller was vocal in her disapproval of relaxing the rigorous Bureau of Indian Affairs' processes for tribal recognition,[157] a stance for which she was frequently criticized.[158] In 1993, she wrote to then-governor of Georgia Zell Miller, protesting the state recognition of groups claiming Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek) ancestry.[157] She and other tribal leaders among the Five Civilized Tribes believed that the state recognition process could allow some groups to falsely claim Native heritage. During the congressional hearings on reform of the tribal recognition policies in Washington, D.C., Mankiller stated her opposition to any reform that would weaken the recognition process.[159] During her tenure as chief, the Cherokee tribal council passed two resolutions to bar those without a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) from enrolling in the tribe. The 1988 Rules and Regulations of the Cherokee Registration Committee required applicants to possess a federal certification that they had ancestry linking them to the Dawes Rolls.[160] The 1992 Act Relating to the Process of Enrolling as a Member of the Cherokee Nation enacted the policy into law, effectively barring Cherokee Freedmen from citizenship.[161] Mankiller had reaffirmed "Swimmer's order on CDIBs and voting. But in 2004, Lucy Allen, a Freedman descendant, took the matter to the Cherokee Supreme Court, and the court, in a split decision, said that the descendants of Freemen were, in fact, Cherokee, could apply to be enrolled, and should have the right to vote."[162]

In 1992, Mankiller endorsed Bill Clinton for president, but did not donate any money to his campaign. She was invited to take part in an economic conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, and participated in his transition team for the presidency. Thanks to her access to high-level officials, she became the "most influential Indian leader in the country".[131] Her autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People, published in 1993, became a national best-seller. Gloria Steinem said in a review, "As one woman's journey, Mankiller opens the heart. As the history of a people, it informs the mind. Together, it teaches us that, as long as people like Wilma Mankiller carry the flame within them, centuries of ignorance and genocide can't extinguish the human spirit".[163] Steinem and Mankiller became close friends, and Steinem later married her partner David Bale in a ceremony at Mankiller Flats.[164] In May, Mankiller received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Drury College;[165] in June, she was honored with the American Association of University Women's Achievement Award;[166] and in October was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[167] In 1994, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame,[163][168] as well as the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas.[169] That same year, Mankiller was invited by Clinton to moderate the Nation-to-Nation Summit, in which leaders of all 545 federally recognized tribes in the United States were assembled to discuss a variety of topics. The summit provided a forum for tribal leaders and government officials to resolve issues concerning jurisdiction, law, resources and religious freedom. It was followed by a conference held in Albuquerque, which included the U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of the Interior. As a result of the two meetings, the Office of Indian Justice was established by the Department of Justice.[149]

In 1995, Mankiller was diagnosed with lymphoma and chose not to run again, largely due to health problems.[170][171] Because of the chemotherapy, Mankiller had to forgo the immunosuppressive drugs she had been taking since her transplant.[172] When George Bearpaw was disqualified as a candidate, Joe Byrd succeeded her as Principal Chief. Mankiller refused to attend his inauguration, on the grounds that the disqualification of his rival was based on an expunged conviction of assault.[173] Fearing that Byrd would fire the staff she had hired, Mankiller authorized severance packages for the workers in her final days in office.[174] A lawsuit was filed by the new Chief on behalf of the Cherokee Nation against Mankiller, alleging embezzlement of tribal funds of $300,000 paid out to tribal officials and department heads who left at the end of her term in 1995. Cherokee Nation v. Mankiller was withdrawn by a vote of the tribal council.[174][175] Reflecting on her chieftainship, Mankiller said, "We've had daunting problems in many critical areas, but I believe in the old Cherokee injunction to 'be of a good mind'. Today it's called positive thinking".[176] When Mankiller left office, the population of the Cherokee Nation had increased from 68,000 to 170,000 citizens.[70] The tribe was generating annual revenues of approximately $25 million from a variety of sources, including factories, retail stores, restaurants and bingo operations. She had secured federal assistance of $125 million annually to assist with education, health, housing and employment programs. Having obtained the tribe's grant for "self-governance", federal oversight of tribal funds was minimized.[177]

Return to activism (1996–2010) edit

Byrd's administration became embroiled in a constitutional crisis, which he blamed on Mankiller, stating that her failure to attend his inauguration and lack of mentoring divided the tribe and left him without experienced advisors.[178] His supporters also alleged that Mankiller was behind attempts to remove Byrd from office,[179] an allegation she denied. She had remained silent on Byrd's administration until he accused her of heading a conspiracy.[174] Two months after Byrd was accused of improperly using federal funds, and a month after he blamed his administration's issues on Mankiller, she went to Washington with her predecessor, Swimmer, to ask that the federal authorities allow the tribe to sort out their own problems.[180] Despite calls from the US Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, for congressional intervention and Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe's desire for presidential action, Mankiller continued to maintain that the problem was one of inexperienced leadership, in which she did not want to be involved.[181] When an independent group of legal analysts, known as the "Massad Commission", was assembled in 1997 to evaluate the problems in Byrd's administration, Mankiller, in spite of her ongoing health concerns, was called to testify. She reiterated at the hearings that she believed the problems stemmed from poor advisors and the Chief's lack of experience.[179]

 
Wilma Mankiller receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton, January 1998

After her term as chief, in 1996, Mankiller became a visiting professor at Dartmouth College, where she taught in the Native American Studies program as part of the school's Montgomery Fellows program.[70][170] That year, she was honored with the Elizabeth Blackwell Award from Hobart and William Smith Colleges for her exemplary service to humanity.[182] After a semester,[145] she began traveling on a national lecture tour, speaking on health care, tribal sovereignty, women's rights and cancer awareness.[183] She spoke to various civic organizations,[184] tribal gatherings,[185] universities[186][187] and women's groups.[188][189] In 1997, she received an honorary degree from Smith College.[190] In 1998, President Clinton awarded Mankiller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.[70][170] Shortly after that, she had a second kidney failure and received a second transplant, from her niece, Virlee Williamson.[170] As previously, she immediately returned to work, resuming her lecture tours[187] and working simultaneously on four books. In 1999 Mankiller was diagnosed with breast cancer[171] and underwent a double-lumpectomy followed by radiation treatment.[191] That same year, The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History, co-edited by Mankiller, was published.[188]

In 2002, Mankiller contributed to the book That Takes Ovaries!: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts,[192] and in 2004, she co-authored Every Day Is a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women.[163] The following year, she worked with the Oklahoma Breast Cancer Summit to encourage early screening and raise awareness on the disease.[193] In 2006, when Mankiller, along with other Native American leaders, was asked to send a pair of shoes to the Heard Museum for the exhibit Sole Stories: American Indian Footwear, she sent a simple pair of walking shoes. She chose the shoes because she had worn them all over the world, including trips from Brazil to China, and because they conveyed the normalcy of her life as well as her durability, steadfastness and determination.[194] In 2007, Mankiller gave the Centennial Lecture in the Humanities for Oklahoma's 100th anniversary of statehood. After the lecture, she was honored with the inaugural Oklahoma Humanities Award by the Oklahoma Humanities Council.[195] She continued her lecture tours and scholarship, and in September 2009 was named the first Sequoyah Institute Fellow at Northeastern State University.[196][197]

Death and legacy edit

In March 2010, her husband announced that Mankiller was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer.[198] Mankiller died on April 6, 2010, from cancer at her home in rural Adair County, Oklahoma.[199][200] About 1,200 people attended her memorial service at the Cherokee National Cultural Grounds in Tahlequah on April 10, including many dignitaries such as sitting Cherokee Chief Chad Smith, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, U.S. Congressman Dan Boren and Gloria Steinem. The ceremony included statements from former President and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as then President Barack Obama.[201][202] Mankiller was buried in the family cemetery, Echota Cemetery, in Stilwell,[203] and a few days later was honored with a Congressional Resolution from the U.S. House of Representatives.[204] She was posthumously presented with the Drum Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Five Civilized Tribes.[205]

Mankiller's papers are housed in the Western History Collection at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. With 14 honorary doctorates, she left a permanent mark on both her state and the nation, through her work to build communities and stewardship of her tribe.[206] Over the course of her three terms as Principal Chief, Mankiller reinvigorated the Cherokee Nation through community development projects where men and women work collectively for the common good.[207] Under the national policy of Native American self-determination, Mankiller improved federal–tribal negotiations and helped create and shepherd the government-to-government relationship that the Cherokee Nation now enjoys with the U.S. federal government.[208] She was an inspiration to Native and non-Native Americans and a role model for women and girls.[206] "Prior to my election", Mankiller once said, "young Cherokee girls would never have thought that they might grow up and become chief".[107] At the 2010 annual women's conference hosted by Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations (WEWIN) to promote and empower Indigenous women's leadership, for which Mankiller had been a founding board member, a scholarship was named in her honor to pay travel expenses for women to attend the gathering.[209]

A 2013 feature film, The Cherokee Word for Water, tells the story of the Bell waterline project that helped launch Mankiller's political career and started her friendship with her future husband, Charlie Soap. In the film, Mankiller is portrayed by actress Kimberly Norris Guerrero, and Soap is portrayed by actor Moses Brings Plenty. The film, produced by Kristina Kiehl and Soap, was a dream that involved more than 20 years of planning and fundraising. It was important to Mankiller that the story of the resilience of Native people be the focus of the film. The Mankiller Foundation, named in her honor, which focuses on educational, community and economic development projects, was involved in the production.[210][211] In 2015, the Cherokee Nation completed construction on an addition to the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center, located in Stilwell, doubling its size and updating its equipment. The center, one of the busiest of the eight hospitals in the Cherokee Nation Health Services system, serves approximately 120,000 patients annually.[212] In 2017 a documentary film, Mankiller, produced by Valerie RedHorse Mohl, was released. Through interviews with those who knew her and archival records, the film tells the story of Mankiller's life and her time as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.[213][214] In 2018, Mankiller became one of the honorees in the first induction ceremony held by the National Native American Hall of Fame.[215]

In 2021, it was announced that Mankiller, Maya Angelou, Sally Ride, Adelina Otero-Warren and Anna May Wong were each selected to have their likeness appear on a quarter-dollar coin[216] as a part of the United States Mint's "American Women Quarters" Program.[217]

In 2023, Mattel produced a Wilma Mankiller doll for their Barbie Inspiring Women series.[218]

Selected works edit

  • Mankiller, Wilma (1985). "Keeping Pace With the Rest of the World". Southern Exposure. Durham, North Carolina: Institute for Southern Studies. ISSN 0146-809X.[69] Reprinted in Bruchac, Joseph, ed. (1995). Aniyunwiya/real Human Beings: An Anthology of Contemporary Cherokee Prose (1st ed.). Greenfield Center, New York: Greenfield Review Press. ISBN 978-0-912-67892-4.
  • Mankiller, Wilma P. (1988). The chief cooks: traditional Cherokee recipes. Muskogee, Oklahoma: Hoffman Printing Company. OCLC 25384767.
  • Kauger, Yvonne; Du Bey, Richard; Mankiller, Wilma (1990). Zelio, Judy A. (ed.). Promoting Effective State-Tribal Relations: A Dialogue. Denver, Colorado: National Conference of State Legislatures. ISBN 978-1-55516-975-6.
  • Mankiller, Wilma (Spring 1991). "Education and Native Americans: Entering the Twenty-First Century on Our Own Terms". National Forum. 71 (2). Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University: 5–7. ISSN 0162-1831.[219]
  • Mankiller, Wilma; Wallis, Michael (1993). Mankiller: A Chief and Her People (1st ed.). New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-09868-1.
  • Mankiller, Wilma P.; Mink, Gwendolyn; Navarro, Marysa; Steinem, Gloria; Smith, Barbara, eds. (1999). The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-618-00182-8.
  • Mankiller, Wilma (2002). "Returning Home". In Solomon, Rivka (ed.). That Takes Ovaries!: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts. New York, New York: Three Rivers Press. pp. 64–66. ISBN 978-0-609-80659-3.
  • Mankiller, Wilma Pearl (2004). Every Day is a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women. Introduction by Gloria Steinem; Foreword by Vine Deloria Jr. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55591-516-2.
  • Mankiller, Wilma (2008). "Introduction". In Hurtado, Albert L. (ed.). Reflections on American Indian History: Honoring the Past, Building a Future. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3896-1.

Notes edit

  1. ^ In her autobiography, Wilma Mankiller wrote that her maternal great grandparents William and Sarah Sitton, had migrated from North Carolina to Georgia and in 1891 had settled in Wauhillau, Indian Territory, bringing their son Robert Bailey Sitton with them. In 1903, Robert met and married Pearl Halady, who was in Indian Territory visiting friends. Pearl was from Washington County, Arkansas, where she lived with her half-sister, Ida Mae Scism Jordan. Robert and Pearl's youngest child, Clara Irene Sitton, Wilma's mother, was born on September 18, 1921, in Rocky Mountain, Oklahoma.[10]
  2. ^ Also in Mankiller's autobiography, she wrote that her paternal great-great grandfather was Ka-skun-nee Mankiller, who established the family surname. Ka-skun-nee married Lucy Matoy with whom he had several children; one of whom was Jacob Mankiller, born in 1853. Jacob married Susan Teehee-Bearpaw and their oldest child was John Mankiller, Wilma's grandfather. John married Bettie Bolin Bendabout Canoe, whose Cherokee name was Quatie. John and Quatie, had a son, Charley, born November 15, 1914, who was Wilma's father.[17]
  3. ^ The 1983 election was memorable, not only because it was the first time a woman had been elected,[91] but also because it was the first time Cherokee Freedmen had been excluded from voting. The Cherokee Constitution of 1976 specified that in Section 1 of Article III that "All members of the Cherokee Nation must be citizens as proven by reference to the Dawes Commission Rolls".[92] While ostensibly this could have been interpreted to mean any person on the three Dawes Rolls,[93][94] in 1977–1978, the voter registration committee and the tribal membership committee both introduced requirements for voters and citizens to obtain a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) from the U.S. government before enrollment would be allowed.[92][95] Prior to the election, the BIA area director in Muskogee, Oklahoma wrote in a memorandum that Freedmen without a CDIB could not be candidates for office, but were eligible as voters.[96] When Freedman voters were turned away at the polls, they filed suit in 1984, naming Swimmer; the tribal registrar; a tribal council member; the tribal election committee; the United States, Office of the President; The Department of the Interior; the Office of the Secretary of State; the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and three BIA employees.[97] At the time of the lawsuit, Mankiller stated that she believed "freedmen should not be given membership in the Cherokee tribe", as membership was reserved for those with Cherokee blood.[94] Many tribal members at the time believed that one-quarter blood quantum should be required for tribal membership.[98]
  4. ^ Mankiller is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the first woman chief of a Native American tribe.[107] Alice Brown Davis became Principal Chief of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma in 1922,[108] and Mildred Cleghorn became the Chairperson of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe in 1976.[109] In earlier times, a number of women led their tribes, such as Nanyehi (Cherokee),[110] Bíawacheeitchish (Gros Ventres-Crow),[111] Vestana Cadue (Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas), Liza Moon Neck (Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah)[112] and Minnie Evans (Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation),[113] among others.[114]

References edit

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  219. ^ Lewis 1993, p. 207.

Bibliography edit

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Further reading edit

  • Janda, Sarah Epple (2007). Beloved Women: The political lives of Ladonna Harris and Wilma Mankiller. DeKalb, Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-875-80372-2.
  • Johansen, Bruce E.; Grinde, Donald A. Jr. (1998). The encyclopedia of Native American biography: Six hundred life stories of important people, from Powhatan to Wilma Mankiller (1st Da Capo Press ed.). New York, New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306808708.

External links edit

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Wilma Mankiller.
  • Mankiller documentary by Valerie Red-Horse Mohl
  • Voices of Oklahoma interview with Wilma Mankiller. First person interview conducted with Wilma Mankiller on August 13, 2009
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
  • National Women's History Museum page
Political offices
Preceded by Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
1985–1995 		Succeeded by

May 01, 2024
wilma, mankiller, wilma, pearl, mankiller, cherokee, ᎠᏥᎳᏍᎩ, ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ, romanized, atsilasgi, asgayadihi, november, 1945, april, 2010, native, american, activist, social, worker, community, developer, first, woman, elected, serve, principal, chief, cherokee, natio. Wilma Pearl Mankiller Cherokee ᎠᏥᎳᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ romanized Atsilasgi Asgayadihi November 18 1945 April 6 2010 was a Native American activist social worker community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Born in Tahlequah Oklahoma she lived on her family s allotment in Adair County Oklahoma until the age of 11 when her family relocated to San Francisco as part of a federal government program to urbanize Indigenous Americans After high school she married a well to do Ecuadorian and raised two daughters Inspired by the social and political movements of the 1960s Mankiller became involved in the Occupation of Alcatraz and later participated in the land and compensation struggles with the Pit River Tribe For five years in the early 1970s she was employed as a social worker focusing mainly on children s issues Wilma MankillerMankiller in 2001Principal Chief of the Cherokee NationIn office December 14 1985 August 14 1995Preceded byRoss SwimmerSucceeded byJoe ByrdPersonal detailsBornWilma Pearl Mankiller 1945 11 18 November 18 1945Tahlequah Oklahoma U S DiedApril 6 2010 2010 04 06 aged 64 near Tahlequah Oklahoma U S Political partyDemocraticSpousesHugo Olaya m 1963 div 1974 wbr Charlie Soap m 1986 wbr Children2EducationSkyline CollegeSan Francisco State University BA University of Arkansas When Mankiller returned to Oklahoma in 1976 the Cherokee Nation hired her as an economic stimulus coordinator With her expertise at preparing documentation she became a successful grant writer and by the early 1980s was directing the newly created Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation As Director she designed and supervised innovative community projects allowing rural citizens to identify their own challenges and through their labor participate in solving them Her project in Bell Oklahoma was featured in the movie The Cherokee Word for Water directed by Charlie Soap and Tim Kelly In 2015 the movie was selected as the top American Indian film of the past 40 years by the American Indian Film Institute 1 Her project in Kenwood received the Department of Housing and Urban Development s Certificate of National Merit Her management ability came to the notice of the incumbent Principal Chief Ross Swimmer who invited her to run as his deputy in the 1983 tribal elections When the duo won she became the first elected woman to serve as Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation She was elevated to Principal Chief when Swimmer took a position in the federal administration of the Bureau of Indian Affairs serving until 1995 During her administration the Cherokee government built new health clinics created a mobile eye care clinic established ambulance services and created early education adult education and job training programs She developed revenue streams including factories retail stores restaurants and bingo operations while establishing self governance allowing the tribe to manage its own finances Mankiller returned to her activist role as an advocate working to improve the image of Native Americans and combat the misappropriation of native heritage by authoring books including a bestselling autobiography Mankiller A Chief and Her People and giving numerous lectures on health care tribal sovereignty women s rights and cancer awareness after retiring from politics Throughout her life she had serious health problems including polycystic kidney disease myasthenia gravis lymphoma and breast cancer and needed two kidney transplants She died in 2010 from pancreatic cancer and was honored with many local state and national awards including the nation s highest civilian honor the Presidential Medal of Freedom In 2021 it was announced that Mankiller s likeness would appear on the quarter dollar coin 2 as a part of the United States Mint s American Women Quarters program 3 Contents 1 Early life 1945 1955 2 Relocation to San Francisco 1956 1976 2 1 Activism 2 2 Social work 3 Return to Oklahoma 3 1 Community development 1976 1983 3 2 Politics 1983 1995 3 2 1 Deputy Chief 1983 1985 3 2 2 Principal Chief partial term 1985 1986 3 2 3 Principal Chief first elected term 1987 1991 3 2 4 Principal Chief second elected term 1991 1995 3 3 Return to activism 1996 2010 4 Death and legacy 5 Selected works 6 Notes 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 Bibliography 8 Further reading 9 External linksEarly life 1945 1955 editWilma Pearl Mankiller was born on November 18 1945 in the Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah Oklahoma to Clara Irene nee Sitton and Charley Mankiller 4 5 Her father was a full blooded Cherokee 4 6 whose ancestors had been forced to relocate to Indian Territory from Tennessee over the Trail of Tears in the 1830s 6 7 8 Her mother descended from Dutch Irish and English immigrants 9 who had first settled in Virginia and North Carolina in the 1700s Her maternal grandparents came to Oklahoma in the early 1900s from Georgia and Arkansas respectively 4 Notes 1 The surname Mankiller Asgaya dihi Cherokee syllabary ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ in the Cherokee language refers to a traditional Cherokee military rank similar to a captain or major 11 or a shaman with the ability to avenge wrongs through spiritual methods 12 Alternative spellings are Outacity 13 and Ontassete 14 Wilma s given Cherokee name meaning flower was A ji luhsgi 15 When Charley and Irene married in 1937 16 they settled on Charley s father John Mankiller s Notes 2 allotment known as Mankiller Flats near Rocky Mountain in Adair County Oklahoma which he had received in 1907 as part of the government policy of forced assimilation for Native American people 18 19 20 Wilma had five older siblings Louis Donald Don Frieda Marie Robert Charles Frances Kay and John David 15 In 1948 when she was three the family moved into a house built by her father her uncle and her brother Don on the allotment of her grandfather John 8 11 Her five other siblings Linda Jean Richard Colson Vanessa Lou James Ray and William Edward were born over the next 12 years 15 The small house had no electricity or plumbing 21 and they lived in extreme poverty 11 The family hunted and fished maintaining a vegetable garden to feed themselves They also grew peanuts and strawberries which they sold 15 Mankiller went to school through the fifth grade in a three room schoolhouse in Rocky Mountain 22 23 The family spoke both English and Cherokee at home even Mankiller s mother spoke Cherokee 22 Her mother canned food and used flour sacks to make clothes for the children 15 22 whom she immersed in Cherokee heritage Though they joined the Baptist church the children were wary of white congregants and customs preferring to attend tribal ceremonial gatherings 24 Family elders taught the children traditional stories 25 Relocation to San Francisco 1956 1976 editIn 1955 a severe drought made it more difficult for the family to provide for itself 26 27 As a part of the Indian termination policy the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 provided assistance to relocate Native families to urban areas Agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs promised better jobs and living conditions for families that agreed to move 19 In 1956 when she was 11 22 her father Charley was denied a loan from the BIA 28 and decided that moving to a city where he would have a regular income and a steady job would be good for his family 27 29 The family chose California because Irene s mother lived in Riverbank Selling their belongings they took a train from Stilwell Oklahoma to San Francisco 28 Though they were promised an apartment in the city there were no apartments available when the Mankillers arrived They were housed in a squalid hotel in the Tenderloin District for several weeks 30 Even when the family moved to Potrero Hill where both her father and brother Don found work the family struggled financially 23 They had few Native American neighbors creating alienation from their tribal identities 31 32 Mankiller and her siblings enrolled in school but it was difficult as the other students made fun of her surname 33 34 and teased her about her clothes and the way she spoke 23 Mankiller withdrew from school due to her classmates treatment 23 Within a year the family had saved money and were able to move to Daly City but Mankiller still felt alienated and ran away from home going to her grandmother s farm in Riverbank Wilma continued to run away despite her grandmother made her return to Potrero so her parents decided to let her live on the farm for a year 35 By the time she returned the family had moved again and were living in Hunters Point a neighborhood riddled with crime drugs and gangs 33 36 Though she had regained her confidence during her year away Mankiller still felt isolated and began to become involved in the activities of the San Francisco Indian Center 36 She remained indifferent to school where she struggled with math and science but graduated from high school in June 1963 36 37 As soon as she finished school Mankiller found a clerical job in a finance company and moved in with her sister Frances 37 38 That summer at a Latin dance she met Hector Hugo Olaya de Bardi an Ecuadorian college student from a well to do family and the two began dating Mankiller found him sophisticated and despite her parents discomfort with the union the two married in Reno Nevada on November 13 1963 and then honeymooned in Chicago Returning to California they moved into an apartment in the Mission District where 10 months later their daughter Felicia was born They then moved to a house in a nearby neighborhood and in 1966 had a second daughter Gina While Olaya continued with his schooling at San Francisco State University and worked for Pan American Airlines Mankiller was busy raising their daughters 37 39 Olaya saw his role as the family s provider leaving his wife at home to bring up the children But Mankiller was restless and returned to school enrolling in classes at Skyline Junior College For the first time she enjoyed school and took only courses that interested her 40 Activism edit nbsp Alcatraz Occupation Welcome to Indian Land graffiti In 1964 a small group of Red Power activists occupied Alcatraz Island for a few hours 41 42 In the late 1960s a group of students from the University of California at Berkeley Los Angeles and Santa Cruz along with students at San Francisco State began protesting against the Vietnam War and in favor of civil rights for ethnic minorities and women 43 44 Among the groups that sprang up in the period was the American Indian Movement AIM which in San Francisco was centered around the activities at the San Francisco Indian Center 44 Also meeting there was the United Bay Indian Council which operated as an umbrella organization for 30 separate groups representing people of different tribal affiliations In October 1969 the Center burned and the loss of their meeting place created a bond between administrators and student activists who combined their efforts to bring the plight of urban Native Americans to the public eye with the reoccupation of Alcatraz 45 The occupation inspired Mankiller to become involved in civil rights activism 41 46 Prior to the November takeover of the island she had not been involved in either AIM or the United Bay Council She began to meet with other Native Americans who had participated in the Indian Center becoming active in the groups supporting the Occupation 47 While she did visit Alcatraz most of her work focused on fundraising and support gathering supplies of blankets food and water for those on the island 48 Soon after the Occupation began Charley Mankiller was diagnosed with kidney disease which caused Mankiller to discover that she shared polycystic kidney disease with her father 49 In between her activism school and family obligations she spent as much time with him as she was able 50 The Occupation lasted 19 months 51 and during that time Mankiller learned organizational skills and how to do paralegal research 46 She had been encouraged by other activists to continue her studies and began planning a career 40 46 Social work edit On her father s death in 1971 the Mankiller family returned to Oklahoma for his burial When she returned to California she transferred to San Francisco State University 46 in 1972 and began to focus her classes on social welfare 52 Against her husband s wishes she bought her own car and began to seek independence taking her daughters to Native American events along the West Coast 53 On her travels she met members of the Pit River Tribe in Northern California near Burney and joined their campaign for compensation with the Indian Claims Commission and Pacific Gas and Electric Company for lands illegally taken from the tribe during the California Gold Rush 54 55 56 Over the next five years she assisted the tribe in raising funds for its legal defense and helped prepare documentation for their claim gaining experience in international and treaty law 57 Closer to home Mankiller founded East Oakland s Native American Youth Center where she served as director Locating a building she called for volunteers to paint and help draft educational programs to help youth learn about their heritage enjoying overwhelming support from the community 58 In 1974 Mankiller and Olaya divorced and she moved with her two daughters to Oakland Taking a position as a social worker with the Urban Indian Resource Center she worked on programs conducting research on child abuse and neglect 59 foster care and adoption of Native children Recognizing that most indigenous children were placed with families with no knowledge of Native traditions she worked on legislation with other staff and attorneys to prevent children from being removed from their culture The law which eventually passed as the Indian Child Welfare Act made it illegal to place Native children in non Native families 60 Return to Oklahoma edit nbsp Map of contemporary Cherokee Nation Tribal Jurisdiction Area red Community development 1976 1983 edit In 1976 Mankiller s mother returned to Oklahoma prompting Mankiller to move as well with her two daughters 61 Initially she was unable to find work and moved back to California for six months 62 By the fall she was back in Oklahoma 63 and built a small house near her mother s in Mankiller Flats 64 After doing volunteer work for the Cherokee Nation 65 Mankiller was hired in 1977 to work on a program for young Cherokees to study environmental science 62 66 That same year she enrolled in additional classes at Flaming Rainbow University in Stilwell Oklahoma completing her Bachelor of Science degree in social sciences with an emphasis on Indian Affairs thanks to a correspondence course under a program offered by the Union for Experimental Colleges in Washington D C 67 68 69 She enrolled in graduate courses in community development at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville 70 71 while continuing to work in the tribal offices as an economic stimulus coordinator 72 She worked on home health care the Indian child welfare protocols language services a senior citizens program and a youth shelter 73 On November 9 1979 on her way back to Tahlequah from Fayetteville Mankiller s vehicle was struck by an oncoming car Sherry Morris one of Mankiller s closest friends was driving the other vehicle and died in the crash 66 67 74 Mankiller suffered broken ribs as well as breaks in her left leg and ankle and both her face and right leg were crushed Initially doctors thought that she would not regain the ability to walk After 17 operations and plastic surgery to reconstruct her face she was released from the hospital able to walk with crutches 67 74 While still in recovery from the accident three months after the collision Mankiller began to notice a loss of muscle coordination She dropped things was unable to grip items her voice tired after a few moments of speaking 66 Doctors thought that the problems were related to the accident but one day while watching a muscular dystrophy telethon Mankiller thought her symptoms sounded similar She called the muscular dystrophy center was referred to a specialist and was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis In November 1980 she returned to the hospital underwent more surgeries and began a course of chemotherapy which lasted several years She went back to work in December 75 She later said the car crash and its aftermath were life changing leading her to accept what she called a Cherokee approach to life In a 1993 interview on NPR she said I think the Cherokee approach to life is being able to continually move forward with kind of a good mind and not focus on the negative things in your life and the negative things you see around you but focus on the positive things and try to look at the larger picture and keep moving forward It also taught me to look at the larger things in life rather than focusing on small things and it s also awfully awfully hard to rattle me after having faced my own mortality so the things I learned from those experiences actually enabled me to lead Without those experiences I don t think I would have been able to lead I think I would have gotten caught up in a lot of nonsensical things 76 Mankiller s first community development program as a grant writer was for Bell Oklahoma By requiring community members to donate their time and labor to lay 16 miles of pipe for a shared water system build houses or work on building rehabilitation the grant involved the community in self improvement 77 Working on the Bell project Mankiller collaborated with Charlie Soap who worked in the Indian Housing Authority and helped her supervise the venture 78 79 The success of the program led to its use as a model for other grant programs for her own and other tribes 80 In the midst of the Bell Project in 1981 tribal chief Ross Swimmer promoted her as first director of a department she devised the Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation 81 82 Over the next three years Mankiller raised millions of dollars for similar community development programs 83 Her approach was one of self help which allowed citizens to identify their problems and gain control of the challenges they faced 84 Impressed by her skill and results Swimmer asked her to be his running mate for the next tribal election 83 Politics 1983 1995 edit Deputy Chief 1983 1985 edit In 1983 Mankiller a Democrat was selected as a running mate by Ross Swimmer a Republican in a bid for Swimmer s third consecutive term as principal chief 85 Though they both wanted the tribe to become more self sufficient Swimmer felt the path was through developing tribal businesses like hotels and agricultural enterprises Mankiller wanted to focus on small rural communities improving housing and health care 86 Their differences on policy were not a key problem in the election but Mankiller s gender was She was surprised by the sexism she faced as in traditional Cherokee society families and clans were organized matrilineally 87 88 Though traditionally women had not held titled positions in Cherokee government they had a women s council which wielded considerable influence and were responsible for training the tribal chief 87 She received death threats her tires were slashed and a billboard with her likeness was burned Swimmer nevertheless remained steadfast 89 90 91 Notes 3 Swimmer won reelection against Perry Wheeler by a narrow margin on the strength of absentee voters Mankiller also won by absentee voters in a run off election for the deputy chief post against Agnes Cowen 99 and became the first woman elected deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation 91 Wheeler and Cowen demanded a recount and filed a suit with the Cherokee Judicial Appeals Tribunal and U S District Court alleging voting irregularities Both tribal and federal courts ruled against Wheeler and Cowen 100 nbsp Cherokee Heritage Center One of her main duties as deputy chief was to preside over the Tribal Council the fifteen member governing body for the Cherokee Nation Though she assumed that the sexism of the campaign would end once the election was resolved Mankiller quickly realized that she had little support in the council Some members viewed her as a political enemy while others discounted her because of her gender 101 102 She chose to avoid involvement in tribal legislation to minimize the hostility to her election instead concentrating on areas of government that the council did not control 103 One of her first focus issues was on the full blood mixed blood divide Cherokees with non Native ancestry had assimilated into American culture to a greater extent while full bloods maintained Cherokee language and culture The two groups historically had been at odds with much disagreement on development By the time Mankiller was elected deputy the mixed blood faction focused on economic growth and favored non Natives being hired to run Native businesses if they were more qualified Full bloods believed that such modernization would compromise Cherokee identity 104 Mankiller who supported a middle of the road approach expanded the Cherokee Heritage Center and the Institute for Cherokee Literacy 105 She persuaded the tribal council to change the way that council members were elected so that rather than at large candidates potential members came from newly created districts The change meant that urban areas with large populations no longer controlled the council membership 106 Principal Chief partial term 1985 1986 edit In 1985 Chief Swimmer resigned when appointed assistant secretary of the US Bureau of Indian Affairs 70 Mankiller succeeded him as the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation Notes 4 when she was sworn into office on December 5 1985 115 To appease her detractors on the council she did not attend council meetings and stressed the separation between the executive and legislative branches of the government 116 Almost immediately the press coverage on Mankiller made her an international celebrity and improved the perception of Native Americans throughout the country 116 117 In articles such as a November 1985 interview in People Mankiller strove to show that Native cultural traditions of cooperation and respect for the environment made them role models for the rest of society 117 In an interview with Ms she pointed out that Cherokee women had been valued members of their communities before mainstream society imposed patriarchy upon the tribe In presenting her critiques of Reagan administration policies that might diminish tribal self determination or threaten their culture she built relationships with various power brokers 116 Because she lacked favor with the Tribal Council she also used her access with the press to educate Cherokee voters on the goals of her administration and her desire to improve housing and health services 118 Within five months of becoming chief Mankiller s celebrity status resulted in her election that year as American Indian Woman of the Year an honor bestowed by the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women and her induction into the Oklahoma Women s Hall of Fame She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of New England and received a citation for leadership from Harvard University 90 119 120 By 1986 Mankiller and Charlie Soap s relationship had changed from a professional one to a personal one leading to their engagement early in the year 79 Not wanting to provoke calls for her to step down they kept the relationship private until their marriage in October 121 It nevertheless caused controversy generating calls for Soap to resign from his position He resigned effective with the end of January 1987 which generated further criticism from Mankiller s opponents who saw the delay as a tactic for Soap to qualify for retirement benefits 120 Initially Mankiller s negative experiences dissuaded her from seeking re election but after her opponents tried to persuade her not to run she entered the race with Soap s support She persuaded voters that the tribe could cooperate with state and federal governments to negotiate favorable terms to improve their opportunities 121 Soap as a full blood Cherokee was instrumental in taking her message to that faction and defusing the gender issue by speaking in Cherokee with them about the traditional place of women in Cherokee society 122 123 Focusing on budget cuts by the Reagan White House she highlighted how reductions in funding for low income housing health and nutrition programs and educational initiatives were affecting the tribe While she recognized that economic development was a priority Mankiller stressed that business development had to be balanced by addressing social problems 124 Weeks before the election Mankiller was hospitalized for her kidney disease Her opponents argued that she was medically unfit to lead the tribe 122 125 Turnout was high and even though Mankiller won 45 of the vote tribal law required 50 to avoid a run off with Perry Wheeler 123 She won the run off but within a week one of her supporters who had been elected to the Tribal Council died The tribal election committee voted to nullify the absentee ballots for the new council membership and Mankiller petitioned the Judicial Appeals Tribunal which required a recount including the absentee voters The council recount gave Mankiller s administration the majority and the seat was filled by a supporter of her policies 122 Mankiller used the press surrounding her election to combat the negative stereotypes about Native people stressing their cultural heritage and strengths She was selected as Newsmaker of the Year by the Association for Women in Communications and as Ms magazine s Woman of the Year for 1987 and was featured in the article Celebration of Heroes in Newsweek s July 1987 edition 90 126 Principal Chief first elected term 1987 1991 edit One of Mankiller s first initiatives was to lobby for maintaining the operation of the Talking Leaves Job Corps Center which the U S Department of Labor had placed on a list for closure Officials agreed to suspend the closure if she could find a suitable location She recommended that the job center be housed in the financially insolvent motel but initially the Tribal Council denied her permission She was able to reverse their decision by promising to take the issue directly to a vote of the tribal members She also expanded community development programs using the Bell Project model and in 1987 the Kenwood Project won the Department of Housing and Urban Development s Certificate of National Merit 122 Announcing that the Cherokee government would not wholly fund the Heritage Center she pressed the center to become more proactive in attracting tourists and generating income to pay for its own operational expenses 127 When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 passed Mankiller remained cautious about participating though she acknowledged that other tribes had a right to do so Concerned by research connecting gambling and crime she did not endorse gaming for the Cherokee Nation She also rejected requests for the tribe to store nuclear waste given its potential to harm the environment 128 Eventually she changed her stance and bingo parlors became a major revenue source for the tribe 129 nbsp Segment of the McClellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System near Webbers Falls Oklahoma Founding the Private Industry Council Mankiller brought government and private businesses together to analyze ways to generate economic growth in northeastern Oklahoma She established employment training opportunities and programs that offered financial and technical expertise to tribal members who wanted to start their own small enterprises She also backed the creation of a tribal electronic harness and cabling company construction of a hydroelectric plant and a horticultural operation 130 Another initiative launched soon after her installment was a claim of compensation from the U S government for misappropriating resources from the Arkansas River 131 The U S Supreme Court ruled in Choctaw Nation v Oklahoma that the Cherokee Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations owned the banks and riverbed of the Arkansas River 131 132 At issue was whether the tribes were entitled to be paid for the loss of access to coal gas and oil deposits which could no longer be extracted as the United States Army Corps of Engineers had rerouted the river during the construction of the McClellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System 133 The Cherokee then sued the United States for compensation and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe was entitled to it 134 though the claim was reversed by the Supreme Court 135 The three tribes filed a claim in the United States Court of Federal Claims in 1989 alleging mismanagement of tribal trust resources 136 In December 1988 Mankiller s leadership was recognized with a national award bestowed by the Independent Sector an umbrella group for non profit organizations The John W Gardner Leadership Award recognized not only her community development projects but also her administration of Cherokee Nation Industries which had seen profits soar to over 2 million 137 In the middle of her first term Mankiller was invited to the White House to meet with President Reagan to discuss Native peoples grievances with his administration Thinking that it was going to be a productive meeting Mankiller who had been chosen as one of the three spokespeople for the 16 invited chiefs was disappointed that Reagan discounted their issues and merely reiterated his pledge for self determination Though she brushed off the meeting as a photo opportunity for the president the publicity of the event further enhanced her image with the public 122 The most significant development in her first full term was the negotiation with the State of Oklahoma for tax sharing on businesses operating on Cherokee lands The compact signed by Governor David Walters and leadership of all of the Five Civilized Tribes except the Muscogee Creek Nation allowed the chiefs to collect state taxes and retain a portion of the revenues 129 In June 1990 Mankiller s kidney disease worsened and one of her kidneys failed Her brother Don donated one of his kidneys and she underwent a kidney transplant in July returning to work within a few weeks 90 138 While she was in Boston recuperating from the transplant she met with officials from Washington D C and signed an agreement for the Cherokee Nation to participate in a project that allowed the tribe to self govern and assume responsibility for the use of federal funds 139 This change in policy had come about because of allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Hearings on the matter resulted in amendments in 1988 to the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 to allow ten tribes to participate in a pilot program spanning five years Tribes received block grants and were allowed to tailor the use of funds based on local needs 140 Further amendments in the early 1990s extended self determination to the Indian Health Service 141 Mankiller welcomed the initiative which reinforced intergovernmental cooperation and increased self determination 142 During her first full administration her government built new health clinics created a mobile eye care clinic and established ambulance services They also created early education and adult education programs 143 Mankiller was recognized with an honorary degree from Yale University in 1990 144 and from Dartmouth College in 1991 145 Around the same time the contentious relationship with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians flared again Under Swimmer the Cherokee Nation had filed a lawsuit against the Keetoowah Band which traditionally had allowed members to belong to both federally recognized tribes 130 Mankiller had hoped to reconcile the differences between the two tribes but the tax compact created controversy The Keetoowah Band refused to allow the Cherokee Nation to collect taxes from its members 129 and began a policy of requiring their tribal members to withdraw from the Cherokee Nation claiming to be the true tribe representing Cherokee people 130 Mankiller whose administration had established a district court to deal with the problem of Indian country being in federal jurisdiction rather than falling under state or local law enforcement began a practice in late 1990 of negotiating cross deputation agreements with law enforcement agencies and the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service Cross deputation became formally authorized in April 1991 129 Raids conducted by county officials and Cherokee Marshals on 14 smoke shops licensed by the Keetoowah Band were carried out in the fall of 1990 Officials of the band failed to obtain a restraining order against the Cherokee Nation and took their grievance to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Unable to resolve the matter the federal courts stepped in and ruled that the smoke shops of the Keetoowah Band were not exempt from state taxes 139 Principal Chief second elected term 1991 1995 edit In March 1991 Mankiller announced her candidacy for the next election 146 and shortly thereafter was invited to meet with other Indian leaders at the White House with President George H W Bush Bush s officials unlike Reagan s were receptive to input from tribal leaders and Mankiller hoped that a new era of government to government relationships would follow 147 In the June election she won 83 of the vote 146 148 One of her first actions was to participate in a conference on educational programs for Native Americans where she strongly opposed centralizing Indian education Similarly she opposed legislation proposed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives to collect cigarette taxes on products sold at Indian smoke shops to non Indians 131 In the continuing battle over compensation for the loss of access to mineral rights owned by the tribe in the Arkansas River Mankiller estimated that one third of her time as chief was spent on trying to obtain a settlement 149 During the school term of 1991 1992 Mankiller s administration revived the tribal Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah 70 Working with the American Association of University Women she worked on a grant program to match Cherokee mentors with girls attending the boarding school The mentors shadowed the girls through their schooling and provided guidance on career opportunities 150 She also focused on issues of identity throughout her second term Mankiller worked with tribal registrar Lee Fleming and a staff member Richard Allen to document groups which claimed Cherokee heritage and they compiled a list of 269 associations throughout the country 151 After the passage of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 which provided both civil and criminal penalties for non Native artists who promoted their work as Indian Art 152 the tribe had the ability to certify artisans who could not prove their ancestry In two highly publicized cases involving Willard Stone and Bert Seabourn 153 154 155 Stone was certified but his family asked for his certification to be removed and Seabourn was not certified as an artist but instead as a goodwill ambassador 156 Mankiller was vocal in her disapproval of relaxing the rigorous Bureau of Indian Affairs processes for tribal recognition 157 a stance for which she was frequently criticized 158 In 1993 she wrote to then governor of Georgia Zell Miller protesting the state recognition of groups claiming Cherokee and Muscogee Creek ancestry 157 She and other tribal leaders among the Five Civilized Tribes believed that the state recognition process could allow some groups to falsely claim Native heritage During the congressional hearings on reform of the tribal recognition policies in Washington D C Mankiller stated her opposition to any reform that would weaken the recognition process 159 During her tenure as chief the Cherokee tribal council passed two resolutions to bar those without a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood CDIB from enrolling in the tribe The 1988 Rules and Regulations of the Cherokee Registration Committee required applicants to possess a federal certification that they had ancestry linking them to the Dawes Rolls 160 The 1992 Act Relating to the Process of Enrolling as a Member of the Cherokee Nation enacted the policy into law effectively barring Cherokee Freedmen from citizenship 161 Mankiller had reaffirmed Swimmer s order on CDIBs and voting But in 2004 Lucy Allen a Freedman descendant took the matter to the Cherokee Supreme Court and the court in a split decision said that the descendants of Freemen were in fact Cherokee could apply to be enrolled and should have the right to vote 162 In 1992 Mankiller endorsed Bill Clinton for president but did not donate any money to his campaign She was invited to take part in an economic conference in Little Rock Arkansas and participated in his transition team for the presidency Thanks to her access to high level officials she became the most influential Indian leader in the country 131 Her autobiography Mankiller A Chief and Her People published in 1993 became a national best seller Gloria Steinem said in a review As one woman s journey Mankiller opens the heart As the history of a people it informs the mind Together it teaches us that as long as people like Wilma Mankiller carry the flame within them centuries of ignorance and genocide can t extinguish the human spirit 163 Steinem and Mankiller became close friends and Steinem later married her partner David Bale in a ceremony at Mankiller Flats 164 In May Mankiller received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Drury College 165 in June she was honored with the American Association of University Women s Achievement Award 166 and in October was inducted into the National Women s Hall of Fame 167 In 1994 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame 163 168 as well as the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth Texas 169 That same year Mankiller was invited by Clinton to moderate the Nation to Nation Summit in which leaders of all 545 federally recognized tribes in the United States were assembled to discuss a variety of topics The summit provided a forum for tribal leaders and government officials to resolve issues concerning jurisdiction law resources and religious freedom It was followed by a conference held in Albuquerque which included the U S Attorney General and Secretary of the Interior As a result of the two meetings the Office of Indian Justice was established by the Department of Justice 149 In 1995 Mankiller was diagnosed with lymphoma and chose not to run again largely due to health problems 170 171 Because of the chemotherapy Mankiller had to forgo the immunosuppressive drugs she had been taking since her transplant 172 When George Bearpaw was disqualified as a candidate Joe Byrd succeeded her as Principal Chief Mankiller refused to attend his inauguration on the grounds that the disqualification of his rival was based on an expunged conviction of assault 173 Fearing that Byrd would fire the staff she had hired Mankiller authorized severance packages for the workers in her final days in office 174 A lawsuit was filed by the new Chief on behalf of the Cherokee Nation against Mankiller alleging embezzlement of tribal funds of 300 000 paid out to tribal officials and department heads who left at the end of her term in 1995 Cherokee Nation v Mankiller was withdrawn by a vote of the tribal council 174 175 Reflecting on her chieftainship Mankiller said We ve had daunting problems in many critical areas but I believe in the old Cherokee injunction to be of a good mind Today it s called positive thinking 176 When Mankiller left office the population of the Cherokee Nation had increased from 68 000 to 170 000 citizens 70 The tribe was generating annual revenues of approximately 25 million from a variety of sources including factories retail stores restaurants and bingo operations She had secured federal assistance of 125 million annually to assist with education health housing and employment programs Having obtained the tribe s grant for self governance federal oversight of tribal funds was minimized 177 Return to activism 1996 2010 edit Byrd s administration became embroiled in a constitutional crisis which he blamed on Mankiller stating that her failure to attend his inauguration and lack of mentoring divided the tribe and left him without experienced advisors 178 His supporters also alleged that Mankiller was behind attempts to remove Byrd from office 179 an allegation she denied She had remained silent on Byrd s administration until he accused her of heading a conspiracy 174 Two months after Byrd was accused of improperly using federal funds and a month after he blamed his administration s issues on Mankiller she went to Washington with her predecessor Swimmer to ask that the federal authorities allow the tribe to sort out their own problems 180 Despite calls from the US Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt for congressional intervention and Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe s desire for presidential action Mankiller continued to maintain that the problem was one of inexperienced leadership in which she did not want to be involved 181 When an independent group of legal analysts known as the Massad Commission was assembled in 1997 to evaluate the problems in Byrd s administration Mankiller in spite of her ongoing health concerns was called to testify She reiterated at the hearings that she believed the problems stemmed from poor advisors and the Chief s lack of experience 179 nbsp Wilma Mankiller receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton January 1998 After her term as chief in 1996 Mankiller became a visiting professor at Dartmouth College where she taught in the Native American Studies program as part of the school s Montgomery Fellows program 70 170 That year she was honored with the Elizabeth Blackwell Award from Hobart and William Smith Colleges for her exemplary service to humanity 182 After a semester 145 she began traveling on a national lecture tour speaking on health care tribal sovereignty women s rights and cancer awareness 183 She spoke to various civic organizations 184 tribal gatherings 185 universities 186 187 and women s groups 188 189 In 1997 she received an honorary degree from Smith College 190 In 1998 President Clinton awarded Mankiller the Presidential Medal of Freedom the highest civilian honor in the United States 70 170 Shortly after that she had a second kidney failure and received a second transplant from her niece Virlee Williamson 170 As previously she immediately returned to work resuming her lecture tours 187 and working simultaneously on four books In 1999 Mankiller was diagnosed with breast cancer 171 and underwent a double lumpectomy followed by radiation treatment 191 That same year The Reader s Companion to U S Women s History co edited by Mankiller was published 188 In 2002 Mankiller contributed to the book That Takes Ovaries Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts 192 and in 2004 she co authored Every Day Is a Good Day Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women 163 The following year she worked with the Oklahoma Breast Cancer Summit to encourage early screening and raise awareness on the disease 193 In 2006 when Mankiller along with other Native American leaders was asked to send a pair of shoes to the Heard Museum for the exhibit Sole Stories American Indian Footwear she sent a simple pair of walking shoes She chose the shoes because she had worn them all over the world including trips from Brazil to China and because they conveyed the normalcy of her life as well as her durability steadfastness and determination 194 In 2007 Mankiller gave the Centennial Lecture in the Humanities for Oklahoma s 100th anniversary of statehood After the lecture she was honored with the inaugural Oklahoma Humanities Award by the Oklahoma Humanities Council 195 She continued her lecture tours and scholarship and in September 2009 was named the first Sequoyah Institute Fellow at Northeastern State University 196 197 Death and legacy editIn March 2010 her husband announced that Mankiller was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer 198 Mankiller died on April 6 2010 from cancer at her home in rural Adair County Oklahoma 199 200 About 1 200 people attended her memorial service at the Cherokee National Cultural Grounds in Tahlequah on April 10 including many dignitaries such as sitting Cherokee Chief Chad Smith Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry U S Congressman Dan Boren and Gloria Steinem The ceremony included statements from former President and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton as well as then President Barack Obama 201 202 Mankiller was buried in the family cemetery Echota Cemetery in Stilwell 203 and a few days later was honored with a Congressional Resolution from the U S House of Representatives 204 She was posthumously presented with the Drum Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Five Civilized Tribes 205 Mankiller s papers are housed in the Western History Collection at the University of Oklahoma in Norman With 14 honorary doctorates she left a permanent mark on both her state and the nation through her work to build communities and stewardship of her tribe 206 Over the course of her three terms as Principal Chief Mankiller reinvigorated the Cherokee Nation through community development projects where men and women work collectively for the common good 207 Under the national policy of Native American self determination Mankiller improved federal tribal negotiations and helped create and shepherd the government to government relationship that the Cherokee Nation now enjoys with the U S federal government 208 She was an inspiration to Native and non Native Americans and a role model for women and girls 206 Prior to my election Mankiller once said young Cherokee girls would never have thought that they might grow up and become chief 107 At the 2010 annual women s conference hosted by Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations WEWIN to promote and empower Indigenous women s leadership for which Mankiller had been a founding board member a scholarship was named in her honor to pay travel expenses for women to attend the gathering 209 A 2013 feature film The Cherokee Word for Water tells the story of the Bell waterline project that helped launch Mankiller s political career and started her friendship with her future husband Charlie Soap In the film Mankiller is portrayed by actress Kimberly Norris Guerrero and Soap is portrayed by actor Moses Brings Plenty The film produced by Kristina Kiehl and Soap was a dream that involved more than 20 years of planning and fundraising It was important to Mankiller that the story of the resilience of Native people be the focus of the film The Mankiller Foundation named in her honor which focuses on educational community and economic development projects was involved in the production 210 211 In 2015 the Cherokee Nation completed construction on an addition to the Wilma P Mankiller Health Center located in Stilwell doubling its size and updating its equipment The center one of the busiest of the eight hospitals in the Cherokee Nation Health Services system serves approximately 120 000 patients annually 212 In 2017 a documentary film Mankiller produced by Valerie RedHorse Mohl was released Through interviews with those who knew her and archival records the film tells the story of Mankiller s life and her time as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation 213 214 In 2018 Mankiller became one of the honorees in the first induction ceremony held by the National Native American Hall of Fame 215 In 2021 it was announced that Mankiller Maya Angelou Sally Ride Adelina Otero Warren and Anna May Wong were each selected to have their likeness appear on a quarter dollar coin 216 as a part of the United States Mint s American Women Quarters Program 217 In 2023 Mattel produced a Wilma Mankiller doll for their Barbie Inspiring Women series 218 Selected works editMankiller Wilma 1985 Keeping Pace With the Rest of the World Southern Exposure Durham North Carolina Institute for Southern Studies ISSN 0146 809X 69 Reprinted in Bruchac Joseph ed 1995 Aniyunwiya real Human Beings An Anthology of Contemporary Cherokee Prose 1st ed Greenfield Center New York Greenfield Review Press ISBN 978 0 912 67892 4 Mankiller Wilma P 1988 The chief cooks traditional Cherokee recipes Muskogee Oklahoma Hoffman Printing Company OCLC 25384767 Kauger Yvonne Du Bey Richard Mankiller Wilma 1990 Zelio Judy A ed Promoting Effective State Tribal Relations A Dialogue Denver Colorado National Conference of State Legislatures ISBN 978 1 55516 975 6 Mankiller Wilma Spring 1991 Education and Native Americans Entering the Twenty First Century on Our Own Terms National Forum 71 2 Baton Rouge Louisiana Louisiana State University 5 7 ISSN 0162 1831 219 Mankiller Wilma Wallis Michael 1993 Mankiller A Chief and Her People 1st ed New York New York St Martin s Press ISBN 978 0 312 09868 1 Mankiller Wilma P Mink Gwendolyn Navarro Marysa Steinem Gloria Smith Barbara eds 1999 The Reader s Companion to U S Women s History New York New York Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN 978 0 618 00182 8 Mankiller Wilma 2002 Returning Home In Solomon Rivka ed That Takes Ovaries Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts New York New York Three Rivers Press pp 64 66 ISBN 978 0 609 80659 3 Mankiller Wilma Pearl 2004 Every Day is a Good Day Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women Introduction by Gloria Steinem Foreword by Vine Deloria Jr Golden Colorado Fulcrum Publishing ISBN 978 1 55591 516 2 Mankiller Wilma 2008 Introduction In Hurtado Albert L ed Reflections on American Indian History Honoring the Past Building a Future Norman Oklahoma University of Oklahoma Press ISBN 978 0 8061 3896 1 Notes edit In her autobiography Wilma Mankiller wrote that her maternal great grandparents William and Sarah Sitton had migrated from North Carolina to Georgia and in 1891 had settled in Wauhillau Indian Territory bringing their son Robert Bailey Sitton with them In 1903 Robert met and married Pearl Halady who was in Indian Territory visiting friends Pearl was from Washington County Arkansas where she lived with her half sister Ida Mae Scism Jordan Robert and Pearl s youngest child Clara Irene Sitton Wilma s mother was born on September 18 1921 in Rocky Mountain Oklahoma 10 Also in Mankiller s autobiography she wrote that her paternal great great grandfather was Ka skun nee Mankiller who established the family surname Ka skun nee married Lucy Matoy with whom he had several children one of whom was Jacob Mankiller born in 1853 Jacob married Susan Teehee Bearpaw and their oldest child was John Mankiller Wilma s grandfather John married Bettie Bolin Bendabout Canoe whose Cherokee name was Quatie John and Quatie had a son Charley born November 15 1914 who was Wilma s father 17 The 1983 election was memorable not only because it was the first time a woman had been elected 91 but also because it was the first time Cherokee Freedmen had been excluded from voting The Cherokee Constitution of 1976 specified that in Section 1 of Article III that All members of the Cherokee Nation must be citizens as proven by reference to the Dawes Commission Rolls 92 While ostensibly this could have been interpreted to mean any person on the three Dawes Rolls 93 94 in 1977 1978 the voter registration committee and the tribal membership committee both introduced requirements for voters and citizens to obtain a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood CDIB from the U S government before enrollment would be allowed 92 95 Prior to the election the BIA area director in Muskogee Oklahoma wrote in a memorandum that Freedmen without a CDIB could not be candidates for office but were eligible as voters 96 When Freedman voters were turned away at the polls they filed suit in 1984 naming Swimmer the tribal registrar a tribal council member the tribal election committee the United States Office of the President The Department of the Interior the Office of the Secretary of State the Bureau of Indian Affairs and three BIA employees 97 At the time of the lawsuit Mankiller stated that she believed freedmen should not be given membership in the Cherokee tribe as membership was reserved for those with Cherokee blood 94 Many tribal members at the time believed that one quarter blood quantum should be required for tribal membership 98 Mankiller is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the first woman chief of a Native American tribe 107 Alice Brown Davis became Principal Chief of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma in 1922 108 and Mildred Cleghorn became the Chairperson of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe in 1976 109 In earlier times a number of women led their tribes such as Nanyehi Cherokee 110 Biawacheeitchish Gros Ventres Crow 111 Vestana Cadue Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas Liza Moon Neck Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah 112 and Minnie Evans Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation 113 among others 114 References editCitations edit The Cherokee Word for Water voted best American Indian film November 25 2015 US Mint to issue quarters honoring notable American women Associated Press June 17 2021 Retrieved June 25 2021 American Women Quarters Program April 12 2021 Retrieved June 25 2021 a b c Schwarz 1994 p 23 Wallis 1993 p xviii a b Glassman 1992 p 10 Wallis 1993 p xvi a b Dell 2006 p 18 Wilma Mankiller Native American leader Encyclopaedia Britannica April 2 2024 Mankiller amp Wallis 1993 pp 9 11 a b c Kallen 1999 p 87 Dell 2006 p 30 Mankiller amp Wallis 1993 p 12 Hirst 1926 p 16 a b c d e Dell 2006 p 20 Dell 2006 p 19 Mankiller amp Wallis 1993 pp 4 5 Wallis 1993 p xvi xviii a b Schwarz 1994 p 14 Dell 2006 pp 23 24 Simon 1991 p 6 a b c d Kallen 1999 p 88 a b c d Schwarz 1994 p 42 Dell 2006 pp 21 22 Glassman 1992 p 11 Simon 1991 p 7 a b Dell 2006 p 26 a b Schwarz 1994 p 40 Glassman 1992 p 23 Kallen 1999 pp 88 90 Simon 1991 p 10 Glassman 1992 p 26 a b Kallen 1999 p 90 Dell 2006 p 29 Schwarz 1994 pp 43 44 a b c Schwarz 1994 p 45 a b c Kallen 1999 p 91 Schwarz 1994 p 46 Schwarz 1994 pp 47 48 a b Schwarz 1994 p 48 a b Schwarz 1994 p 12 Johnson 1994 p 66 Johnson 1994 p 65 a b Kallen 1999 p 92 Johnson 1994 p 67 a b c d Kallen 1999 p 94 Schwarz 1994 pp 16 17 Schwarz 1994 pp 17 18 Schwarz 1994 pp 51 52 Schwarz 1994 p 52 Schwarz 1994 p 20 Glassman 1992 p 28 Schwarz 1994 p 53 Schwarz 1994 pp 53 54 Agnew 2004 p 212 The Desert Sun 1970 p 3 Schwarz 1994 p 54 Schwarz 1994 p 55 Schwarz 1994 p 56 Schwarz 1994 p 57 Schwarz 1994 p 59 a b Glassman 1992 p 30 Schwarz 1994 p 63 Schwarz 1994 p 61 Simon 1991 p 14 a b c Kallen 1999 p 95 a b c Schwarz 1994 p 65 Sonneborn 2010 p 46 a b Allinder 1985 a b c d e f Verhovek 2010 Glassman 1992 p 31 Schwarz 1994 p 64 Agnew 2004 p 213 a b Simon 1991 p 24 Schwarz 1994 pp 67 68 Foster Tekella A New Quarter Honors Native American leader and activities Wilma Mankiller NPR June 6 2022 https www npr org 2022 06 06 1103058335 new quarter honors native american leader wilma mankiller Schwarz 1994 pp 66 70 Glassman 1992 p 36 a b Schwarz 1994 p 86 Schwarz 1994 p 71 Kallen 1999 p 96 Agnew 2004 p 214 a b Schwarz 1994 p 73 Glassman 1992 p 34 Swygart 2014 p 3 Schwarz 1994 pp 73 74 a b Schwarz 1994 p 76 Glassman 1992 p 40 Glassman 1992 pp 40 41 a b c d Kallen 1999 p 98 a b c Schwarz 1994 p 77 a b Sturm 1998 p 239 Sturm 1998 pp 239 240 a b Sturm 2002 p 179 Ray 2007 p 411 Sturm 2002 p 181 Sturm 2002 p 182 Lemont 2009 p 141 Agnew 2004 p 215 Sturm 2002 p 183 Sonneborn 2010 p 62 Schwarz 1994 p 79 Sonneborn 2010 p 63 Schwarz 1994 pp 79 80 Schwarz 1994 p 81 Schwarz 1994 p 82 a b U S Department of State 2008 Bates 2008 Everett 2009 Sonneborn 2010 p 56 Jenkins 2001 pp 341 342 Considine 1954 p 7 Heritage of the Great Plains 1960 p 4 Swartz 1983 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Navajo Times 2010 p 31 a b Raymond 2010 Champagne 1994 pp 104 105 Meredith 1993 p 143 Good Voice 2010b p 8 Adcox 2012 pp 66 67 Snell 2011 Hubbard 2015 Carrillo 2017 Duncan 2017 Krol 2018 US Mint to issue quarters honoring notable American women Associated Press June 17 2021 Retrieved June 25 2021 American Women Quarters Program April 12 2021 Retrieved June 25 2021 Kaur Harmeet December 5 2023 A new Barbie doll honors pioneering Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller But it s prompting some complicated feelings CNN Retrieved December 8 2023 Lewis 1993 p 207 Bibliography edit Adcock Clifton April 10 2010 More than 1 000 attend memorial service for former Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller The Tulsa World Tulsa Oklahoma Retrieved April 10 2010 Adcox Brooke February 2012 Healing Waters Oklahoma Today 62 1 Oklahoma City Oklahoma Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation 66 68 ISSN 0030 1892 Retrieved August 7 2018 via EBSCO s Academic Search Complete subscription required Agnew Brad 2004 Edmunds R David ed The New Warriors Native American Leaders Since 1900 Lincoln Nebraska University of Nebraska Press pp 211 237 ISBN 978 0 8032 6751 0 Allinder Maridel November 15 1985 Cherokee achieving the dream The Tulsa World Tulsa Oklahoma Retrieved August 5 2018 Barnett Jennifer August 25 1997 Cherokee Nation faces hard lesson in dispute The Springfield News Leader Springfield Missouri p 12 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Bates Rechenda Davis 2008 Davis Alice Brown 1852 1935 Oklahoma Historical Society s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Oklahoma Historical Society Archived from the original on June 14 2013 Retrieved June 21 2009 Bauer Traci May 17 1993 Cherokee chief takes stand against stereotypes The Springfield News Leader Springfield Missouri p 1 Retrieved August 5 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Brakhage Joshua April 6 2010 Former Chief Of The Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller Dies Newson6 com Tulsa Oklahoma Associated Press Archived from the original on August 5 2018 Retrieved February 2 2012 Brus Brian June 5 1991 Festival to Show Non registered Indians Work The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma Associated Press p 63 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Carrillo Sequoia August 11 2017 Just doing what I could Wilma Mankiller changed Native America Smithsonian Magazine Washington D C National Museum of the American Indian Retrieved August 7 2018 Champagne Duane ed 1994 Native America Portrait of the Peoples Detroit Michigan Visible Ink Press ISBN 978 0 8103 9452 0 Cherokee Tribal Council September 12 1992 Legislative Act LA 06 92 The Process of Enrolling as a Member of the Cherokee Nation Report Tahlequah Oklahoma Cherokee Nation Archived from the original on August 15 2018 Retrieved August 15 2018 Cherokee Tribal Council March 12 1988 Resolution R 21 88 Supporting the Guidelines Rules and Regulations Of The Cherokee Registration Committee Report Tahlequah Oklahoma Cherokee Nation Archived from the original on August 15 2018 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Duncan Shanna November 14 2017 Wilma Mankiller An American Hero An Interview with Gale Anne Hurd WomensHistory org Alexandria Virginia National Women s History Museum Archived from the original on January 30 2018 Retrieved January 29 2018 Elliott Jack December 7 1985 Wilma Mankiller new Cherokee chief The Morning Call Allentown Pennsylvania Associated Press p 34 Retrieved August 3 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Everett Dianna 2009 Cleghorn Mildred Imoch 1910 1997 Oklahoma Historical Society s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Oklahoma Historical Society Archived from the original on December 13 2009 Retrieved June 21 2009 Gatlin Latarsha May 7 2010 Dartmouth s Annual Pow Wow Honors Mankiller and Hanitchak Dartmouth News Hanover New Hampshire Archived from the original on August 5 2018 Retrieved August 5 2018 Glassman Bruce 1992 Wilma Mankiller Chief of the Cherokee Nation 1st ed New York New York Blackbirch Press ISBN 978 0 8239 1208 7 Good Voice Christina April 6 2010a Breaking News Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller dies The Cherokee Phoenix Tahlequah Oklahoma Archived from the original on November 14 2013 Retrieved February 2 2012 Good Voice Christina July 23 2010b Native women s conference focuses on empowerment leadership Native American Times Vol 16 no 30 Tahlequah Oklahoma p 8 Retrieved August 11 2018 Gould Suzanne November 20 2013 Wilma Mankiller the Inspiring First Woman Cherokee Chief Washington D C American Association of University Women Archived from the original on September 26 2017 Retrieved August 7 2018 Hales Donna March 20 1998 Wilma Mankiller Lawsuit Cherokee Councilors Vote The Muskogee Phoenix Muskogee Oklahoma Archived from the original on July 24 2011 Retrieved April 2 2009 Hamm Jennifer March 5 1999 Healthy Outlook pt 1 Los Angeles Times Los Angeles California p B1 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp and Hamm Jennifer March 5 1999 Leader Woman Cites Lessons pt 2 Los Angeles Times Los Angeles California p B5 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Hirst Francis W 1926 Life and Letters of Thomas Jefferson New York New York Macmillan and Co OCLC 493588779 Hubbard Julie October 14 2015 Cherokee Nation opens 10M Wilma P Mankiller Health Center addition Cherokee org Tahlequah Oklahoma Cherokee Nation Archived from the original on August 7 2018 Retrieved August 7 2018 Jarosz Francesca September 28 2008 Q amp A Wilma Mankiller The Indianapolis Star Indianapolis Indiana p B4 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Jenkins Jennifer L 2001 Woman Chief In Bataille Gretchen M Lisa Laurie eds Native American Women A biographical dictionary 2nd ed New York New York Routledge pp 341 342 ISBN 978 0 415 93020 8 Johnson Troy Autumn 1994 The Occupation of Alcatraz Island Roots of American Indian Activism Wicazo Sa Review 10 2 Minneapolis Minnesota University of Minnesota Press 63 79 doi 10 2307 1409133 ISSN 0749 6427 JSTOR 1409133 Kallen Stuart A 1999 6 Wilma Mankiller Native American Chiefs and Warriors San Diego California Lucent Books pp 86 103 ISBN 978 1 56006 364 3 Kilpatrick James J December 13 1992 Indian Artists Form Tight Closed Shop The Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery Alabama p 46 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Kovacs Leanora A 1988 United States v Cherokee Nation Indian Water Rights Giving with One Hand and Taking with the Other PDF Pace Environmental Law Review 6 1 White Plains New York Pace University School of Law 255 267 doi 10 58948 0738 6206 1387 ISSN 0738 6206 S2CID 152461480 Archived from the original PDF on August 5 2018 Retrieved August 5 2018 Krol Debra October 22 2018 National Native American Hall of Fame names first twelve historic inductees Newsmaven io Washington D C Indian Country Today Archived from the original on October 22 2018 Retrieved October 22 2018 Kurt Kelly July 25 1996 Cherokees Ex Leader Ailing But Upbeat The Albuquerque Journal Albuquerque New Mexico Associated Press p 48 Retrieved August 5 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Lemont Eric D 2009 American Indian Constitutional Reform and the Rebuilding of Native Nations Austin Texas University of Texas Press ISBN 978 0 292 77807 8 Lewis David Rich May 1993 Still Native The Significance of Native Americans in the History of the Twentieth Century American West Western Historical Quarterly 24 2 Logan Utah Utah State University for the Western History Association 203 227 doi 10 2307 970936 ISSN 0043 3810 JSTOR 970936 Limore Annajo Cantrell 2012 Echota Cemetery Adair County Oklahoma Oklahoma Cemeteries United States Tammie Chada Archived from the original on August 27 2012 Retrieved August 7 2018 Website is a volunteer project where obituary donors and editors provide content however Annao Limore confirmed listed burials with a photo survey in 2012 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint postscript link Martindale Rob April 27 1997 Cherokee Nation Split From the Start The Tulsa World Tulsa Oklahoma Retrieved August 6 2018 Meredith Howard 1993 Modern American Indian Tribal Government and Politics Tsaile Arizona Navajo Community College Press ISBN 978 0 912586 76 2 Miller Mark Edwin 2013 Claiming Tribal Identity The Five Tribes and the Politics of Federal Acknowledgment Norman Oklahoma University of Oklahoma Press ISBN 978 0 8061 5053 6 Mouser Denette A 1999 A Nation in Crisis The Government of the Cherokee Nation Struggles to Survive American Indian Law Review 23 2 Norman Oklahoma University of Oklahoma College of Law 359 374 doi 10 2307 20068887 ISSN 0094 002X JSTOR 20068887 Muchmore Shannon March 2 2010 Former Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller gravely ill husband says The Tulsa World Tulsa Oklahoma Retrieved March 2 2010 Myers Jim April 15 2010 Mankiller honored by Congress The Tulsa World Tulsa Oklahoma World Washington Bureau Retrieved August 7 2018 Nelson Andrew November 20 2001 People Wilma Mankiller Salon San Francisco California Archived from the original on May 15 2007 Retrieved July 19 2006 Olp Susan October 9 2009 Cherokee ex chief tells how communities can progress The Billings Gazette Billings Montana p 19 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Owen Penny October 29 2000 A Colorful Life She s riding ol paint to fame Ryan woman to join Cowgirl Hall of Fame The Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma Archived from the original on August 7 2018 Retrieved August 7 2018 Ray S Alan 2007 A Race or a Nation Cherokee National Identity and the Status of Freedmen s Descendants Michigan Journal of Race amp Law 12 2 Ann Arbor Michigan University of Michigan Law School 387 463 ISSN 1095 2721 Retrieved August 5 2018 Raymond Ken April 7 2010 Wilma Mankiller A legend In her own time The Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma Archived from the original on August 7 2018 Retrieved August 7 2018 Ritsch Massie March 7 1999 750 Women Gather for Their Day at Cal Lutheran pt 1 Los Angeles Times Los Angeles California p B1 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp and Ritsch Massie March 7 1999 Options pt 2 Los Angeles Times Los Angeles California p B4 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Robinson Judy Gibbs February 23 2007 Mankiller opens up dialogue pt 1 The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma p 1 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp and Robinson Judy Gibbs February 23 2007 Mankiller pt 2 The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma p 2 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Schreibman Tamar September 8 2002 Gals with guts The Daily News New York City New York p 168 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Schwarz Melissa 1994 Baird W David ed Wilma Mankiller Principal Chief of the Cherokees 1st ed New York New York Chelsea House ISBN 978 0 7910 1715 9 Silha Otto December 27 1988 Cherokees first woman chief shows award class leadership The Star Tribune Minneapolis Minnesota p 11 Retrieved August 5 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Simon Charnan 1991 Wilma P Mankiller Chief of the Cherokee Chicago Illinois Childrens Press ISBN 978 0 516 04181 0 Simpson Susan August 27 2005 Mankiller relates breast cancer struggle pt 1 The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma p 13A Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp and Simpson Susan August 27 2005 Summit pt 2 The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma p 18A Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Smith Pamela ed March 2000 Observing the 1999 Cherokee Nation Elections PDF Cartercenter org Atlanta Georgia The Carter Center Archived from the original PDF on July 12 2017 Retrieved August 6 2018 Smokey Sadie Jo November 1 2006 Storied Shoes pt 1 The Arizona Republic Phoenix Arizona p E1 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp and Smokey Sadie Jo November 1 2006 Storied Shoes Wilma Pearl Mankiller pt 2 The Arizona Republic Phoenix Arizona p E5 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Snell Teddye August 30 2011 The story of Bell Tahlequah Daily Press Tahlequah Oklahoma Retrieved August 30 2011 Sonneborn Liz 2010 Wilma Mankiller New York New York Marshall Cavendish ISBN 978 0 7614 4959 1 Stogsdill Sheila April 8 2010 Gloria Steinem reflects on friendship with Wilma Mankiller The Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma Archived from the original on August 5 2018 Retrieved August 5 2018 Strommer Geoffrey D Osborne Stephen D 2014 The History Status and Future of Tribal Self Governance Under the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act American Indian Law Review 39 1 Norman Oklahoma University of Oklahoma College of Law 1 75 ISSN 0094 002X Archived from the original on May 18 2018 Retrieved August 4 2018 Sturm Circe Spring 1998 Blood Politics Racial Classification and Cherokee National Identity The Trials and Tribulations of the Cherokee Freedmen American Indian Quarterly 22 1 2 Lincoln Nebraska University of Nebraska Press 230 258 ISSN 0095 182X JSTOR 1185118 Sturm Circe 2002 Blood Politics Race Culture and Identity in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Berkeley California University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 23097 2 Swartz Susan October 2 1983 Cherokee power Woman climbs to the top in tribal politics The Press Democrat Santa Rosa California p 17 Retrieved August 3 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Swygart Glenn L 2014 American Indian Biographies Wilma Pearl Mankiller PDF Salempress com Ipswich Massachusetts Salem Press Archived from the original PDF on July 25 2014 Retrieved September 24 2015 Tilove Jonathan May 16 1993 Who Is an Indian pt 1 The Santa Fe New Mexican Santa Fe New Mexico Newhouse News Service p D 1 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp and Tilove Jonathan May 16 1993 Indian pt 2 The Santa Fe New Mexican Santa Fe New Mexico Newhouse News Service p D 2 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Verhovek Sam Howe April 6 2010 Wilma Mankiller Cherokee Chief and First Woman to Lead Major Tribe Is Dead at 64 The New York Times New York City New York Archived from the original on June 24 2018 Retrieved May 2 2018 Wallis Michael 1993 Introduction In Mankiller Wilma Wallis Michael eds Mankiller A Chief and Her People 1st ed New York New York St Martin s Press pp xv xxiv ISBN 978 0 312 09868 1 Whyche Stephanie February 26 1996 Anything is possible Women s conference is 12th for Delaware pt 1 The News Journal Wilmington Delaware p 25 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp and Whyche Stephanie February 26 1996 Women 1 000 expected to attend pt 2 The News Journal Wilmington Delaware p 26 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Yardley Jim August 14 1999 After Years of Division Cherokees Get New Leader The New York Times New York City New York Archived from the original on June 13 2018 Retrieved August 5 2018 35 inducted into women s Hall of Fame The Orlando Sentinel Orlando Florida Associated Press October 10 1993 p A 7 Retrieved August 5 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Arkansas River at Issue Court to Hear Cherokee Case The Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma October 7 1986 Archived from the original on August 5 2018 Retrieved August 5 2018 Cherokee Chief Given Yale Honor The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma Associated Press May 30 1990 p 57 Retrieved August 5 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Cherokee Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations Claims Settlement Act PDF Report Washington D C U S House of Representatives September 4 2002 107th Congress 2nd Session House Report 107 632 accompanying H R 3534 Archived from the original PDF on February 1 2017 Fact and Fiction PDF Heritage of the Great Plains 4 1 Emporia Kansas School of Liberal Arts and Sciences of the Emporia State University 3 9 1960 ISSN 0739 4772 Retrieved January 4 2015 Former Chief Named Fellow The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma Associated Press September 7 2009 p 3 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Cherokee leader receiving Geneva colleges honor The Democrat and Chronicle Rochester New York December 14 1995 p 28 Retrieved August 5 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Commencements The Boston Globe Boston Massachusetts May 22 1997 p 63 Retrieved August 5 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Indian Uprising Spreads to Private Land Squatting Tribes Now Claiming Gas Electric Ground The Desert Sun No 259 Palm Springs California June 5 1970 p 3 Retrieved August 2 2018 Mankiller Harris among Drum Award winners Navajo Times Window Rock Arizona October 21 2010 p 31 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspaperarchive com nbsp Mankiller Says Tribe Can t Certify Artists as Cherokee Tribal Members The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City Oklahoma Associated Press February 20 1991 p 16 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Mankiller Wilma 1994 OklahomaHOF com Oklahoma City Oklahoma Oklahoma Hall of Fame 1994 Archived from the original on August 5 2018 Retrieved August 5 2018 Memorial fit for a chief The Herald amp Review Decatur Illinois Associated Press April 11 2010 p 3 Retrieved August 7 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Names The Paris News Paris Texas Associated Press September 15 1999 p 2 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Tribal chief wants U S to stay out of dispute The St Cloud Times Saint Cloud Minnesota Gannett News Service April 19 1997 p 8 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Weidner Heidinger attend AAUW meet The Southern Illinoisan Carbondale Illinois June 28 1993 p 7 Retrieved August 5 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Wilma Mankiller Women of the Hall Seneca Falls New York National Women s Hall of Fame 1993 Archived from the original on October 21 2016 Retrieved June 21 2009 Wilma Mankiller to speak Saturday The Santa Fe New Mexican Santa Fe New Mexico April 27 2005 p G1 Retrieved August 6 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Wilma Pearl Mankiller First woman chief of an American Indian nation America gov Washington D C U S Department of State April 27 2008 Archived from the original on October 20 2012 Retrieved June 21 2009 Further reading editJanda Sarah Epple 2007 Beloved Women The political lives of Ladonna Harris and Wilma Mankiller DeKalb Illinois Northern Illinois University Press ISBN 978 0 875 80372 2 Johansen Bruce E Grinde Donald A Jr 1998 The encyclopedia of Native American biography Six hundred life stories of important people from Powhatan to Wilma Mankiller 1st Da Capo Press ed New York New York Da Capo Press ISBN 978 0306808708 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Wilma Mankiller Mankiller documentary by Valerie Red Horse Mohl Voices of Oklahoma interview with Wilma Mankiller First person interview conducted with Wilma Mankiller on August 13 2009 Appearances on C SPAN National Women s History Museum page Political offices Preceded byRoss Swimmer Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation1985 1995 Succeeded byJoe Byrd Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wilma Mankiller amp oldid 1221483014, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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