THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Wilma Pearl Mankiller
November 18, 1945 – April 6, 2010
“Look forward. Turn what has been done into a better path.” – Wilma Pearl Mankiller
A community organizer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Author of a national best-selling autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People. Mankiller worked to expand education and health initiatives for the community, strengthen the Cherokee economy and continue to fight for tribal rights in Washington. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Bill Clinton in 1998.
Photo. The swearing in of Wilma Mankiller as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Charlie Soap holds the Bible, photo from the Wilma Mankiller Foundation.
Wilma Mankiller in her home in Tahlequah in 1996. Photo by Kelly Kerr, Tulsa World.
More About Wilma:
- A Mother And Son Remember “Grandma Chief,” Gina Olaya and Kellen Quinton, September 27, 2021. By Castle Row Studios for StoryCorps.
- The Wilma Mankiller Foundation, a fund of Tulsa Community Foundation official website
- Navajo Nation Council celebrates inclusion of Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller on new quarter January 18, 2022
- Statement by Former President Obama on the Passing of Wilma Mankiller, April 6, 2010
- Gloria Steinem on the passing of Wilma Mankiller
- Mankiller: The Documentary Film Celebrating the Life of Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to be elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, Director and Producer.
- “Wilma Mankiller,” Elizabeth Brando, National Women’s History Museum, 2021.
- Wilma Mankiller, Equality Archive
- “Wilma Mankiller: Former Principal Chief of The Cherokee Nation,” Interview by John Erling. Voices of Oklahoma, August 13, 2009
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- On PBS
- Select Speeches
- Wilma Mankiller & AAUW
- Wilma Mankiller Memorial Award webpage
- Wikipedia page
