Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller
source
Name	Wilma Mankiller
Caption	Mankiller in 1993
Birth name	Wilma Pearl Mankiller
Birth date	18 November 1945
Birth place	Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Death date	6 April 2010
Death place	Adair County, Oklahoma
Spouse	Hector Hugo Olaya de Bardi (m. 1963; div. 1977), Charlie Soap (m. 1986)
Office	Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
Term start	December 1985
Term end	August 1995
Predecessor	Ross Swimmer
Successor	Joe Byrd
Party	Democratic

Wilma Mankiller. Wilma Pearl Mankiller was a renowned Native American activist, social worker, community developer, and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Her decade-long tenure, from 1985 to 1995, was marked by significant nation-building initiatives that improved healthcare, education, and tribal governance. Mankiller's leadership revitalized the Cherokee Nation through a philosophy of self-determination and community development, earning her national recognition including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Early life and education

Wilma Pearl Mankiller was born on November 18, 1945, at the W. W. Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Her family surname, Mankiller, is a traditional military rank in Cherokee culture. In 1956, her family relocated to San Francisco as part of the federal relocation policy, a difficult transition she later described as her own "Trail of Tears". She attended Skyline College and later earned a bachelor's degree in social work from San Francisco State University in 1975. Her early experiences with the American Indian Movement, particularly the Occupation of Alcatraz from 1969 to 1971, were formative in developing her activist consciousness.

Activism and community work

After returning to Oklahoma in the late 1970s, Mankiller dedicated herself to community development projects within the Cherokee Nation. She initially worked as a volunteer coordinator for the tribal government. Her most notable early achievement was spearheading the Bell community project, a successful rural water system initiative that became a model for self-help development. During this period, she also worked closely with the Native American Rights Fund and pursued graduate studies at the University of Arkansas. Her work caught the attention of then-Principal Chief Ross Swimmer, who asked her to be his running mate in the 1983 election.

Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

Mankiller made history in 1983 when she was elected as the first female Deputy Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, serving under Chief Ross Swimmer. When Swimmer resigned in 1985 to lead the Bureau of Indian Affairs, she succeeded him as Principal Chief. She was then elected in her own right in 1987 and re-elected by a landslide in 1991. Her administration focused on progressive nation-building: she dramatically increased tribal enrollment and revenue, established the Cherokee Nation Community Development Department, and launched major initiatives in adult education, healthcare, and children's programs. She established a groundbreaking government-to-government relationship with the federal government and oversaw the construction of new tribal facilities in Tahlequah.

Political philosophy and legacy

Mankiller's political philosophy was rooted in Cherokee values of consensus and ga-du-gi, or communal work. She was a proponent of tribal sovereignty and sustainable, community-driven development. Her leadership legacy includes a near-doubling of the Cherokee Nation's enrollment, a tripling of its annual budget, and the creation of new health clinics and Head Start centers. She received numerous honors, including induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame. In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Personal life and death

Wilma Mankiller was married first to Hector Hugo Olaya de Bardi, with whom she had two daughters, and later to Cherokee community developer and filmmaker Charlie Soap, her longtime partner in activism. She faced significant health challenges, surviving a near-fatal car accident in 1979 and later developing myasthenia gravis, which required a kidney transplant from her brother in 1990. After retiring from politics in 1995, she remained active as a speaker and writer, authoring a bestselling autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People. She died on April 6, 2010, at her home in Adair County, Oklahoma, from pancreatic cancer. Her passing was mourned nationally, with tributes from President Barack Obama and numerous Native American leaders.

Category:1945 births Category:2010 deaths Category:Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee Nation Category:Native American women in politics Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients