Wilma Mankiller
The focus of this M5
Academic Journal Blog is the influential female Chief Wilma Mankiller. Chief Wilma
Mankiller was the first female principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation of
Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation currently boasts close to 300,000 citizens,
making it the largest federally recognized Cherokee tribe in America. Chief
Mankiller served as principle Chief for a decade (1985-1995) and was
responsible for nearly tripling the population through the success of her Cherokee
Nation Community Development Department. In 1998 President Bill Clinton awarded
Chief Mankiller the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her dedicated work
improving indigenous communities. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the
highest award that can be bestowed on a civilian. She is also the author of the
best-selling book Mankiller: A Chief and
Her People. After she stepped down as principal Chief she remained heavily
involved in development efforts at a community level until her passing in 2010.
Wilma Mankiller believed heavily in the concepts of
sovereignty and community responsibility. She defined sovereignty for native
nations as the inherent human right to determine your own destiny. That entails
control over tangible things such as your own lands, resources, and assets, as
well as intangible things like the vision for your future. She believed it was
essential for a community to be sovereign if it ever wanted any hope to be
healthy and productive.
Mankiller learned the importance of support from within a
community while growing up in the impoverished Hunter’s Point housing projects
in San Francisco. Her family was moved there from Oklahoma as part of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs relocation program. Since then she championed the need
for a community to fix itself from within. She believed that the rebuilding of
native nations must emanate from grassroots instead of top-down to be
successful. She believed that it was essential to include regular families in
the conversation instead of only tribal leaders in order to get a better
picture overall. She also believed that the best way to help people is to
provide them the means to help themselves. This is essentially the old saying,
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a
lifetime.” In order to accomplish this she advocated the pairing of members of
the local populous (who are experts in their specific community) with external
resources and experts in other areas that provide a benefit to the community.
Wilma Mankiller firmly believed that things would get
better for the indigenous people of America. She cited the incredible
resilience that her nation, the Cherokees, have demonstrated throughout
history. She believed that no matter what the world threw at the Cherokee, they
would be able to weather it and persevere. Chief Wilma Mankiller felt that
there was nowhere else to go but up. She serves as an inspiration to us all and will live on through the legacy of her work.
Sources:
"Wilma
Mankiller: Governance, Leadership and the Cherokee Nation." Wilma
Mankiller: Governance, Leadership and the Cherokee Nation. Indigenous
Governance Database, the University of Arizona, 29 Sept. 2008. Web. 25 Apr.
2016.
<https://nnidatabase.org/video/wilma-mankiller-governance-leadership-and-cherokee-nation>.
"Wilma
Mankiller." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 25 Apr.
2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/wilma-mankiller-214109>.
Wilma Mankiller truly understood the importance of sovereignty, and what that meant to individuals as well as the value this brings to community. During the interview when asked about sovereignty, Wilma Mankiller expresses her beliefs in that this is inherent, and reminds the audience that Native tribal governments were in existence long before the United States government. She also points out something far more critical in answer to this question, when she explains that “sovereignty is about more than just supreme power, it’s about having control over your own vision for the future, and your destiny.” This for me really speaks to the significance of recognition of Native Americans, sovereignty, as a means for identifying with something to which you belong, real meaning and purpose through association. She goes on to make the link between sovereignty and self-awareness, self-identity, and health. These are things that she helped to foster during her leadership.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the interview, Mankiller continues to reference the importance of trusting your own thinking, and the impact this has on the resiliency of tribal community. “I think if you trust your own thinking and you truly believe that from within the cultural context of your tribal community that you can rebuild your nation than you can” (Mankiller) I viewed this as being significant in light of my reference to sovereignty, and the ability of Cherokee Nation to control their own vision and future, something to identify with, as a means to trust your thinking, and decisions. It is this trust in thinking that helps communities arrive at solutions. Without the recognition of a sovereign nation, self-identity suffers, and the connection is lost.
References:
Mankiller, Wilma. "Governance, Leadership, and the Cherokee Nation." Leading Native Nations interview series. Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy, University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. September 29, 2008. Interview.
It was refreshing to me when I watched this interview and heard the Cherokee Nation referred too as resilient and strong. Many sources that we have viewed during this course portrayed Native Americans as victims that are unable to help themselves. Chief Mankiller acknowledges the past and present mistreatment of her people but stresses their ability to adapt and overcome adversity. Under her guidance the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has increased their self reliance and solidified the sovereignty of their nation.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great post. She was definitely a strong leader for the Cherokee Nation and proved it by basically restructuring their entire community. “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime" - this is a great saying that I have heard throughout my life. People who learn to be self sufficient will succeed and I believe that is what she wanted for her people by providing ways that they can help themselves but also knowing that they are an entire community that is there for each other.
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