Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller is a woman has done so much to bridge the gap between Indian and Non-Indian communities. She has achieved so much in our lifetime. She served for two years as the first female elected deputy chief, and 10 years as the first female principal Cherokee Chief. Her areas of expertise include governance, community development, and conceptualization and development of an extensive array of projects ranging from basic infrastructure and enterprises to health clinics and programs for children and youth. She serves on the Freedom Forum board of trustees. She was inducted into the national women’s hall of fame, international womens hall of fame, minority business hall of fame, the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame, as well as the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. She also has eighteen honorary doctorates from multiple universities.
The tribal governments in Arizona have led the fight for land rights and treaty rights, specifically the Gila River water settlement in 2004. Wilma Mankiller speaks of how different each tribe is. Ultimately, they all have the same goal to preserve the earth and land, and to continue sharing the stories of the past so not only their people but also Non-Natives don’t forget. She points out that some non-indigenous people also care about preserving nature, but indigenous people are constantly reminded of their responsibility. When they speak about preserving the land for future generations they aren’t just talking about humans, they mean future generations of all living things.
She points out that for non-indigenous people, the lack of stories of their history result in them becoming distant from the land and even themselves, and that they don’t understand their place in the world. She goes on to say how people are so busy and involved in themselves that they don’t pay attention how wonderful and miraculous each day is.
               Indigenous people are connected by their past, losing their land and many lives after being “discovered”. They all suffered from the hands of the white man. Many still suffer today, because there isn’t enough information out there today to educate non-indigenous people about the history of Native Americans. Indigenous people have proven time and again they can adapt to change, and although they have been making progress they still have many struggles to overcome. 

Works Cited
librarychannel. “Wilma Mankiller: Challenges Facing 21st Century Indigenous   
             People.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 Dec. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?
             v=9K_rVUmV7Y8&feature=youtu.be.

“Posts about wilma mankiller on Hank Whittemore's Memoir.” Hank Whittemores Memoir, 
             hankmemoir.wordpress.com/tag/wilma-mankiller/.

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 21, 2018 at 4:52 PM

    While learning new information about Wilma P. Mankiller I found out that while she was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation she partnered with a law firm with the purpose of obtaining unpaid funds from the US government that was owed to the Cherokee tribe. For the past 25 years the firm has assisted in the recovery about $45 million of unpaid funds. A donation of $200,000 was made on 3/17/15 to assist with the building of an expansion of the hospital.
    Some additional information on that page was that was interesting was about the Cherokee Nation Environmental Protection Commission. This commission "gives input on the tribe’s environmental programs and helps regulate environmental issues such as solid waste and underground storage tanks, toxic and hazardous substance control, and water quality" (Cherokee Nation). By monitoring the environment they are continuing their practice of being stewards of the natural resources.
    Lastly since I did not see it on anyone else's blog I thought I would mention that Wilma Mankiller, passed away the morning of April 6, 2010, from pancreatic cancer. Mankiller was a great women, Chief, and community organizer who worked hard to improve the lives of Native Americans and she never always encouraged them to preserve and take pride in their traditions.

    Reference:
    Cherokee Nation. Tribal Council appoints Environmental Protection Commission members.
    Retrieved from: http://www.cherokee.org/News/Stories/20150317-Tribal-Council-appoints-
    Environmental-Protection-Commission-members

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2018 at 9:12 PM

    That is interesting that she also collected unpaid funds owed to the Cherokee tribe. Because so many of the tribes seem to have struggled or continue to struggle with finances, someone is helping them to make up for lost money and time. The setbacks of multigenerational discrimination and educational deprivation is more of a challenge to overcome than many people know. Technological advances and access to funds for education of Native Americans is something which should be a requirement. The schools which Native American children attend and the schools which we attend differ, and the answer is not to take them from their culture to solve this difference.

    Reference:
    Saccaro, Matt. "This is What Modern Day Discrimintation Against Native Americans Looks Like." (20 Oct 2014). Retrieved from:

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I think that these sources were selected because many of them offer personal accounts of actual people from varying tribes.  A good academic source does not necessarily have to be a refined one.  I would actually argue that a good source is an unfiltered source.  As in, the person compiling the data and recording the interactions between people often put their own personal spin, which could corrupt the information.  With technology, we have the opportunity to actually see first hand without any sort of medium, other than recording devices, to see and hear people, which is incredible.  Wilma Mankiller is a Former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief.  She is a well spoken and articulate individual.  A point that she would like to stress is that she does not speak for all Native people, but she has an interest in all the different tribes.  The native people are deeply intertwined with the natural world, which she and other indigenous people revere....
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