By: Laila Schwin and Valery Warner
December 2, 2021
Wilma Mankiller was the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and was known for her work as a social activist for Indigenous people’s rights and being a community developer for her tribe. She was also a part of the temporary Indigenous occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1964.
Mankiller was born on November 18, 1945, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Her given name at birth was A-ji-luhsgi, meaning “Flower”. She grew up in a situation of extreme poverty along with her ten siblings, not even having access to plumbing or electricity in their home. Her family hunted, fished, and farmed to support their needs, ultimately to make a profit selling some of their crops.
She spent her earlier years indifferent to schooling and often running away from home to avoid it. However, she did manage to graduate high school in 1963. Later that summer, she began dating an Ecuadorian college student named Hector Hugo Olaya de Bardi. They got married shortly after on November 13, 1963. Ten months later, the two had their first child, Felicia. The couple had their second child, Gina, in 1966.
Mankiller became restless being a stay-at-home mother for her children, so she enrolled herself at Skyline Junior College. For the first time in her life, she enjoyed school. In 1972, she transferred to San Francisco State University and began to focus her studies on social welfare.
She became involved in social activism around this time. Mankiller witnessed the beginnings of the reoccupation of Alcatraz and became involved with the civil rights causes surrounding it. She would go on to visit those occupying the island to provide them with supplies and funding, although she was not directly part of the occupation.
She also became interested in the legal aspects of activism and began studying to help various tribes with their legal troubles for reclaiming their taken land. In 1976, Mankiller moved back to Oklahoma with her two daughters and enrolled at Flaming Rainbow University in Stilwell, Oklahoma. She received her Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences there with a focus on Indian Affairs. She then enrolled in The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for further study.
In 1983, Mankiller became the running mate of Ross Swimmer on his third bid as Principal Chief of the Cherokee tribe. Despite a large amount of misogyny and death threats related to her political bid, Mankiller was elected Deputy Chief. When her term ended in 1985, Mankiller became the Principal Chief of the Cherokee nation when Ross Swimmer resigned. She was sworn in on December 5, 1985, as the first woman to serve as the Principal Chief. While she was not respected politically because she was a woman, she used the press to her advantage to share her political agenda. She was well-liked by the press and was awarded the honor of American Indian Woman of the Year by the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women. She was also inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame.
Along with her growing popularity, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The University of New England. She also received a citation for leadership from Harvard University.
In 1986, despite the political implications, Mankiller married Charlie Soap, another Cherokee politician. He resigned following their marriage and the general public outcry related to it. Her popularity as a politician fell greatly due to this and even more so when she was hospitalized for kidney disease. Many believed her to be unfit for the role and not healthy enough to lead them. Despite all of this, she won the election and the run-off election and became elected Principal Chief in 1987.
Mankiller worked endlessly to support the economy of the tribe and to keep them away from gambling, crime, and drinking. She also rejected offers to use their land for nuclear waste storage to prevent any negative environmental impacts to the Cherokee land. She supported a multitude of financial ventures within the tribe and continued them through her next term until 1995 while fighting for land sovereignty and preventing the government from taking and not compensating tribes for minerals and fuels.
Mankiller went back to social activism at the end of her political career to share her story and information about sovereignty, women’s rights, and to raise awareness for cancer. Her achievements were near endless, and she spent her whole life devoting herself to as many causes as she could. In 1998, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her social activism.
Wilma Mankiller died on April 6, 2010, of pancreatic cancer, leaving behind a legacy of unquestionable importance and solidifying her place in the history of the Cherokee tribe.
Through her hard work building communities and leading her tribe, Mankiller left a permanent mark on both her state and the nation. She was an inspiration to both Native and non-Native Americans and a role model for women and girls. Her name will forever be honored, and her legacy will continue to live throughout her tribe and throughout history.
{Information was retrieved from: Wikipedia, Biography.com, and Womenshistory.org.}
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 