Ms. Muse: Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller's Lost Poems

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1. My family followed her life and accomplishments.

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/wilma-mankiller

Married from 1963 to 1977, Mankiller and her two daughters moved back to Oklahoma after a divorce. Her activism continued when she founded the Community Development Department for the Cherokee Nation, focusing on improving access to water and housing. Her first project was in Bell, Oklahoma, a small Cherokee community of 200 families with no running water, high unemployment, and a persistent sense of disempowerment. Mankiller’s belief in communities’ ability to work collectively for the common good enabled Bell residents to construct a 16-mile waterline over a 14-month period. The feat resulted in a full-length feature film, The Cherokee Word for Water. While recruiting volunteers, she met and married Cherokee citizen Charlie Soap.

Mankiller was elected to serve as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1985. She led for 10 years, guiding a sovereign nation whose population more than doubled, from 68,000 to 170,000, during her tenure. Prior to being elected Principal Chief, she served as Deputy Principal Chief. The first woman to be elected chief of a major American Indian tribe, she revitalized the Nation’s tribal government, and advocated relentlessly for improved education, healthcare, and housing services. Under her leadership, infant mortality declined, and educational achievement rose in the Cherokee Nation.
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Mankiller died on April 6, 2010 at age 64 from pancreatic cancer. Her funeral was attended by women’s rights activist and close friend Gloria Steinem and Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry. President Barack Obama said this about her: “As the Cherokee Nation’s first female chief, she transformed the Nation-to-Nation relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the Federal Government and served as an inspiration to women in Indian Country and across America. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she was recognized for her vision and commitment to a brighter future for all Americans. Her legacy will continue to encourage and motivate all who carry on her work.”

Steinem, who was by her side when Mankiller walked on, said of her friend, “Ancient traditions call for setting signal fires to light the way home for a great one; fires were lit in 23 countries after Wilma's death. The millions she touched will continue her work, but I will miss her every day of my life.”

She remains an inspiration to many Cherokees and strong women.