Free Republic

A Barbie doll in the likeness of Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to be elected chief of the Cherokee Nation, has been hailed by tribal citizens. It’s also been lamented for its inaccuracies. An event held Tuesday in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, marked the anniversary of Mankiller becoming chief in 1985 and celebrated her Barbie doll. Mattel, the company that produces Barbie dolls, announced the new toy last month as part of the “Inspiring Women” series that includes conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, journalist Ida B. Wells and writer Maya Angelou. The doll’s release has been met with some criticism. The doll itself...

SEA SHELL CITY WAS SET up in 1957 and relocated in 1963 to its current location. The kitschy shop has been selling seashells since. Though none of the shells are native to the area, the shop sells an incredibly wide variety. The crown jewel of the shop is The Man Killing Clam, a bleached shell of a Giant Clam (Tridacna Gigas) that sits proudly along the back wall of the shop. The shell is more than 500 pounds and is ivory in color. There’s a light installed inside the clam to illuminate the maw of the shell. The clam’s image...

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller is being remembered as a patriot who was remarkable for both her strength and humility. Hundreds of members of the Cherokee Nation and 170 tribal, state and federal officials gathered Saturday at a memorial service for Mankiller in Tahlequah (TAL'-ih-kwah), about 70 miles east of Tulsa. Mankiller led the Cherokee Nation from December 1985 until 1995. She died Tuesday at age 64 after a bout with pancreatic cancer......

WASHINGTON - Officials in the federal agency that oversees American Indian trust assets had an improper social relationship with an accounting firm and pressured subordinates to give the firm preferential treatment, a government investigation found. Senior managers in the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians based in Albuquerque, N.M., golfed, drank and partied with the executives of the New Mexico accounting firm Chavarria, Dunne & Lamey, which won $6.6 million in contract work over eight years, according to the report by the Interior Department's inspector general. The investigation, first reported this week by U.S. News & World Report,...