Wilma Mankiller is a woman who changed the future. It was unheard of, in her day, for a female to become Chief of any Native American Nation, especially the Cherokees. When her name first appeared on the ballot, as a candidate for deputy chief, she shook tradition to its very root. The Swimmer/Mankiller ticket won. In December of 1985 the elected Chief, Ross Swimmer, was offered a position with Bureau of Indian Affairs which he choose to take, leaving his Deputy Chief Mankiller as tribal leader.
Native American Family Life
Mankiller was from a large family, four sisters and six brothers. Her great-grandfather came to Oklahoma on the enforced march known as the Trail of Tears. Her father, Charlie Mankiller, found it difficult to feed his family in rural Oklahoma and set out for California, not a forced march this time, but a trial of promises of better things laid out by the United States government. The promises were not kept and again Mankiller found himself in poverty.
American Indian Movement of 1969
The year was 1969. Mankiller was married and the mother of two daughters when a group of Native American activists, led by a Mohawk named Richard Oakes, overtook the island of Alcatraz and claimed it for the Native peoples. Mankiller was caught up in what the group was trying to accomplish and vowed to help her fellow Native Americans. She began taking courses at a community college in order to prepare herself for her new dedication. It took a toll on her marriage and she was soon divorced.
Oklahoma Roots
Wilma came home in 1971 to bury her father, then returned to California. However, in 1976 she decided to come home for good. Once back in Oklahoma she began working as a community coordinator in the Cherokee Tribal headquarters. Still interested in education, she started taking courses at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. One morning, on her way home from school, she rounded a curve and was hit, head-on, by another car. Mankiller survived to face seventeen operations. The driver of the other car, Wilma's best friend, was killed. A year later, in 1980, Mankiller was diagnosed with a chronic neuromuscular disease, myasthenia gravis. She also faced recurrent kidney problems from a genetic source. Her brother, Don Mankiller, donated a kidney to save her life.
First Woman Chief
In 1986 Wilma married life-long friend, Charlie Soap, and in 1987 she carried the majority vote in the tribal elections. In an article in Powersource Gallery it was stated; 'As the leader of the Cherokee people she represented the second largest tribe in the United States. . .Mankiller was the first female in modern history to lead a major Native American tribe. With an enrolled population of over 140,000, and an annual budget of more than $75 million, and more than 1,200 employees spread over 7,000 square miles, her tasks may have been equalled to that of a chief executive officer of a major corporation.'
Rewarded for Improving the Cherokee Nation
The principal focus for Mankiller's administration was education, especially of native culture, health care, and improving lives in general. She taught preservation of traditions. Community connectedness was an on-going theme of her leadership. Mankiller is a spiritual woman who speaks with great depth of feeling and understanding. She has been touted by religious leaders as a significate spiritual influence. In honor of her service to the Cherokee Nation, and to the United States, she was chosen as a member of the Women's Hall of Fame and was given a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.
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