Women's Quarter: Wilma Mankiller

 

I came across a Wilma Mankiller quarter after getting change at a local store. This amazing woman was the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Her leadership and advocacy for Native sovereignty, healthcare, and education left a lasting impact, but there's more to her story than most people know.

Common Facts:

• Born on November 18, 1945, in the Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to Clara Irene (née Sitton) and Charley Mankiller. Her father was a full-blooded Cherokee, whose ancestors had been forced to relocate to Indian Territory from Tennessee over the Trail of Tears in the 1830s.
• Historic Leadership: She served as Principal Chief from 1985 to 1995, leading the Cherokee Nation’s population growth and economic development.
• Advocate for Native Rights: Mankiller worked tirelessly to improve healthcare, housing, and education for Indigenous communities. She was a grant writer as well.
  
• Presidential Recognition: She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Uncommon Facts:

• Unusual Last Name: The surname "Mankiller" comes from a Cherokee military title for a high-ranking warrior or protector.
• Started with Activism: Before entering politics, she was deeply involved in the 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island, a key moment in Indigenous activism.
• Overcame Hardships: She survived two near-fatal car accidents, underwent a kidney transplant, and battled cancer.
  
• Built from the Ground Up: One of her most successful projects was bringing running water and electricity to rural Cherokee communities, empowering people through self-help initiatives.

Wilma Mankiller was interesting to study. Her quarter isn't just currency in my pocket—it’s a symbol of strength and progress.

Quote after a car crash -  "a Cherokee approach to life." In a 1993 interview on NPR, she said: "I think the Cherokee approach to life is being able to continually move forward with kind of a good mind and not focus on the negative things in your life and the negative things you see around you, but focus on the positive things and try to look at the larger picture and keep moving forward..[It] also taught me to look at the larger things in life rather than focusing on small things, and it's also awfully, awfully hard to rattle me after having faced my own mortality ... so the things I learned from those experiences actually enabled me to lead. Without those experiences, I don't think I would have been able to lead. I think I would have gotten caught up in a lot of nonsensical things."