Leaders, Tribes & Family
Chief Wilma Mankiller - November 18, 1945 – April 6, 2010 Wilma Mankiller was a Cherokee born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma in 1945. At a young age, she moved to California with her parents and eleven brothers and sisters, as her family accepted to relocate there. In 1963, she married Hugo Olaya and had two daughters. In 1969, the occupation of the Alcatraz Island by Native activists marked a turn in her life, and inspired her to do what she could to help in the fight for Indians rights. She became more and more involved and started working in educational programs in the Pit River Tribe, California. During the seventies, Mankiller returned to college, graduated and moved back to Oklahoma after having divorced. She began working for the Cherokee tribal headquarters as their Community Development Coordinator. Her responsibilities included working on the rehabilitation of houses and the creation of rural programs and tribal-owned businesses, a water system to provide running water, and advocating for farming for the Cherokee settlement of Bell, Oklahoma; all projects were destined to improve the Cherokee's independence and life-improvement. Mankiller faced many challenges in life. She went through the death of her father, Charlie Mankiller, kidney disease, a car accident that killed her best friend and because of which she had to endure seventeen operations. Following this, she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a chronic neuromuscular disease, and later battled lymphoma and breast cancer, as well as recurring kidney problems that necesitated a transplant. She is often described as strong-willed and resilient throughout those hardships; she would not give up, and kept fighting. In 1983, she was elected Deputy Chief, serving as such for two years under Ross Swimmer, then replacing him as Chief when he left to become Head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1986, she married her friend and Director of Community Development Projects, Charlie Soap. In 1987, during the following election, she ran for Principal Chief and, even though she encoutered doubt, sexism and death threats from some, she was elected as the first female Cherokee Chief, and reelected in 1991. She chose not to run in 1995 due to health problems, but was still present, mainly teaching, giving lectures (Dartmouth College), and volunteering. Under her, the Cherokee Nations citizens tripled; their horizons broadened, especially for the women, many of which she inspired. Wilma Mankiller died in April 2010 of pancreatic cancer. She will be remembered for her leadership and strenght of character. She was inducted in to the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993, and in 1998 received from President Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For more information, you can read her autobiography : Mankiller, a Chief and her People by Wilma Mankiller and Michael Wallis.
~ Laura Deplanque
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0218z7rYd0
Banner Graphic: www.firstpeople.us
Photo by Mary Burrows All Rights Reserved
Native American Mixed-Bloods March
~ Chief Eagle
On August 17th, 18th and 19th in Washington D.C. at the Lincoln Memorial, there will be a Native American Mixed-Bloods March to bring attention to the facts concerning the discrimination.
Those of us that are of Mixed-Blood ancestry are looked upon as being Non-Native American when many of us have more Native American Blood flowing through our veins than those that sit in judgment of us. There are many mixed-bloods that have been disenfranchised by the Federal Recognized Tribal Councils with permission given to them by the United States Government, who should never have been kicked off the American Indian Roll’s in the first place. That also goes for the Cherokee Freedmen as well; these are the descendants of the African slaves that played a very important role in our culture during the 1700 and 1800’s as they aided their respective tribes, sometimes with their very lives. Many of the Cherokee Freedmen of today are Cherokee by Blood who possess more Cherokee Blood than that of the Thin Blood White Cherokee that kicked them off the membership rolls of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. This should never have happened. We are not pointing the finger at the citizens of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, nor the citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, but we are pointing to the Councils of these two Federal Recognized Tribes that have done this.
We only want to be known for whom we actually are. Our skin may be different in color, some of us are light skinned and some are darker skinned, but we are still Native Americans. We want to practice our Religion as the Great Creator guides us to, but we are not allowed to do so because of regulations against our practices. We once used the feathers of the Mighty Eagle in our ceremonies but we are no longer permitted to do this. We are not wanting to take the life of the Great Eagle to do these ceremonies because taking a life should only be done for food, we only would like to use the feathers that have been taken by the government who keeps them in a repository only to be given out to very few to use as such.
When the white man came to America they came to have “Freedom of Religion” but yet the white man took away that freedom from ALL Native Americans. Now why would a people leave a country for religious freedom to come to another country and impose the same regulations that these Pilgrims were running from onto the first inhabitants in their new country. The white man took our lands, took away our Religious Freedom and has tried to take away our identity, but yet we fight on to regain what has been stripped from us. We honor Mother Earth but the white man does not respect the land; do you remember the television commercials that showed Iron Eyes Cody with tears in his eyes over the trash in the rivers and along the highways of America? Native Americans believe that Mother Earth should be as clean as it was when our ancestors trod over this land. The skies are polluted, the air is stagnant, the land is trashed but yet we go on our merry way not paying attention to it and saying let the next person take care of it, I’m too busy, sooner or later there will be nothing left for us to take care of if we do not wakeup to the reality of what is taking place.
We are expecting over one million people of the Native American community to join with us in this endeavor. We will have many well known performers and guest speakers at this gathering. Won’t you also join with us during these three days as Native America speaks out!!
Wado (Thanks),
Events Coordinator:
Kermit Manis
Indian Creek Band Chickamauga Cherokee Inc.
peacefuleagle@embarqmail.com
Events Coordinator
No_Moccasins_Woamn@yahoo.com
