Women's History Month - Wilma Mankiller
Mar. 2nd, 2011 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vivienFrom http://www.powersource.com/gallery/people/wilma.html:
Wilma Mankiller was a former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and lived on the land which was allotted to her paternal grandfather, John Mankiller, just after Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Surrounded by the Cherokee Hills and the Cookson Hills, she lived in a historically rich area where a person's worth is not determined by the size of their bank account or portfolio. Her family name "Mankiller", as far as they can determine, is an old military title that was given to the person in charge of protecting the village. As the leader of the Cherokee people she represented the second largest tribe in the United States, the largest being the Dine (Navajo) Tribe.
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 task may have been equaled to that of a chief executive officer of a major corporation.
Chief Mankiller was in office while I was at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK, which is the capitol of the western branch of the Cherokee Nation. She grew up in abject poverty, and she left quite the legacy.
Her official site: http://www.wilmamankiller.com/
Wilma Mankiller was a former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and lived on the land which was allotted to her paternal grandfather, John Mankiller, just after Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Surrounded by the Cherokee Hills and the Cookson Hills, she lived in a historically rich area where a person's worth is not determined by the size of their bank account or portfolio. Her family name "Mankiller", as far as they can determine, is an old military title that was given to the person in charge of protecting the village. As the leader of the Cherokee people she represented the second largest tribe in the United States, the largest being the Dine (Navajo) Tribe.
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 task may have been equaled to that of a chief executive officer of a major corporation.
Chief Mankiller was in office while I was at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK, which is the capitol of the western branch of the Cherokee Nation. She grew up in abject poverty, and she left quite the legacy.
Her official site: http://www.wilmamankiller.com/