FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: April 6, 2010
Wilma Pearl Mankiller, the first woman to serve as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and a noted leader who met with presidents and worked tirelessly for American Indians, died this morning of pancreatic cancer, a tribal spokesman said. She was 64.
Mankiller was elected the first female deputy chief and president of the tribal council in 1985. In 1987, she was elected to serve as the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, the second-largest tribe in the United States. She was re-elected in 1991 and chose not to seek re-election in 1995.
Gov. Brad Henry called her "an inspirational leader and a great American, someone who was truly a legend in her own time."
Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation expressed sadness.
"We feel overwhelmed and lost when we realize she has left us but we should reflect on what legacy she leaves us. We are better people and a stronger tribal nation because her example of Cherokee leadership, statesmanship, humility, grace, determination and decisiveness.
"As a leader and a person, Chief Wilma Mankiller continually defied the odds and overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to better her tribe, her state and her nation. Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation and the United States will dearly miss Wilma and her visionary leadership, but her words and deeds will live on forever to benefit future generations.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mankiller family and Wilma's many friends and loved ones," Smith said.
She was a leader in women's rights and Indian rights and served on the boards of numerous humanitarian groups and foundations.
In a statement released by the tribe March 2, Mankiller said, "I want my family and friends to know that I am mentally and spiritually prepared for this journey; a journey that all human beings will take at one time or another. I learned a long time ago that I can't control the challenges the Creator sends my way but I can control the way I think about them and deal with them. On balance, I have been blessed with an extraordinarily rich and wonderful life, filled with incredible experiences ... It's been my privilege to meet and be touched by thousands of people in my life and I regret not being able to deliver this message personally to so many of you."
Mankiller was born in Tahlequah and moved to California as a child. She returned to Oklahoma in 1977 and was the founding director of the Cherokee Nation Community Development Department before being elected deputy chief. She met with Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to discuss tribal issues, and helped facilitate the establishment of an Office of Indian Justice within the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mankiller received numerous awards and was presented with the Medal of Freedom by President Clinton in January 1998. She was named Ms. Magazine's Woman of the Year and ABC News Person of the Week, both in 1987, and was named one of the "100 Most Important Women in America" by Ladies' Home Journal in 1987.
At the time of her death, she held 14 honorary doctorates, including ones from Yale University and Dartmouth College.
Mankiller donated letters and other papers about her tenure as chief to the University of Oklahoma in 1998. They are housed in the school's Western History library.
Pancreatic cancer was not Mankiller's first bout with the disease. She was diagnosed with colon cancer and lymphoma in 1996. She also received two kidney transplants, the first in 1990 and the second in 1998. Radiation treatments destroyed the first.
After the announcement of her death today, the Oklahoma Senate observed a moment of silence in her honor.
Published: April 6, 2010
Nov. 18, 1945 Born at Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, the sixth of 11 children of Charlie and Clara Irene (Sitton) Mankiller.
1956 Moved with her family to San Francisco as part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Relocation Program.
1963 Married Hector H. Olaya.
1964 Daughter Felicia Marie Olaya born.
1966 Daughter Gina Irene Olaya born.
1969 Raised money for American Indian activists who occupied the abandoned prison on Alcatraz Island.
1973-75 Attended Skyline College and San Francisco State College; divorced.
1977 Returned to Oklahoma; earned bachelor of arts degree by correspondence from Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities; became community development director for the Cherokee Nation.
1979 Survived near-fatal auto accident.
1983 Elected first female deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation, and president of the tribal council.
1985 Became principal chief of the Cherokee Nation when former chief Ross Swimmer left to become head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
1986 Married Charlie Soap.
1987 Elected to serve as the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.
1988 With other tribal leaders, met with President Ronald Reagan at the White House.
1991 Re-elected chief of the Cherokee Nation.
1993 Published the book, "Mankiller: A Chief and Her People;" inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y.
1994 Announced she would not seek re-election; inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
1996 Accepted a Montgomery Fellowship to teach at Dartmouth College.
1998 Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.
2004 Published the book, "Every Day is a Good Day."
2005 Taught a class on tribal government, law and life at the University of Oregon.
2009 Named Northeastern State University's first Sequoyah Institute Fellow.
March 2, 2010 Husband Charlie Soap confirmed Mankiller was gravely ill with stage IV pancreatic cancer.
April 6, 2010 Death announced by the Cherokee Nation.