Last week, on my daily walk with my dog, I found a quarter on the sidewalk. I reached down, picked it up, and held it between my fingers. I studied the back image. This coin, as I later learned, was part of the American Women Quarters program, and featured a woman I did not recognized. I squinted to see the lady’s face and to read the small print. Wilma Mankiller, it read and instantly my mind hooked onto her unusual last name. Principle Chief it also read, followed by indistinguishable characters of a language of which I was not familiar. I did not know who this woman was but felt compelled to find out.
I pocketed the quarter. When I got home, I looked up “Wilma Mankiller” on Google.
Boy did I fall into a rabbit hole. Here’s the very basics of what I learned:
The strange language written on the quarter is the name of the Cherokee Nation written in its native language. Wilma Mankiller is recognized as the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Her unique last name is a term of respect that means “warrior.” She was born in Oklahoma in 1945 on Cherokee land. At the age of eleven, the family moved to San Francisco as part of a Bureau of Indian Affairs’ relocation policy, which aimed to move Native Americans off federally subsidized lands with the promise of jobs. In an interview with the New York Times, she referred to this move as “my own little Trail of Tears.”
A part of San Francisco’s counterculture movement in the 60s, Wilma became involved in activism, which inspired her life’s work. She also married and had children, and eventually divorced. As a penniless, single mother, Wilma moved back to her childhood Cherokee land in Oklahoma in 1977. There, her political life began. Wilma Mankiller was hired by the Cherokee Nation as an economic stimulus coordinator. She became a successful grant writer and soon was directing the newly created Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation.
Discovering Wilma’s picture on the quarter prompted me to also watch a documentary about her life and work. Mankiller is available for rent on Amazon and it’s great. In the archival footage of interviews with Wilma Mankiller, I am struck most by her truthfulness, ethics, wisdom, and her peaceful way of accomplishing big things. Her approach is a good reminder for today’s conflict-ridden times, and why I choose to share her story.
One of her biggest accomplishments was in Bell, Oklahoma, an impoverished tribal community that was cut off from main water lines. They had no running water; the people even lived with outhouses—and this was the 1980s. Wilma chose to turn to the citizens to ask what their needs were, instead of imposing outsiders’ ideas. Overwhelmingly, the citizens called for the need for running water. Wilma listened and secured federal money for the project. But there was one caveat: it was enough for materials only, and not enough for labor. The people of Bell would have to build the water line themselves if they wanted running water.
“I banked everything I believed on that project,” Wilma explains in the documentary. “Even when people were saying, ‘these people aren’t going to show up. Half of them are on welfare. They’re not going to volunteer to build their own water lines in the middle of the summer, in the middle of the winter.’ I just knew they would.”
It was Wilma’s grit and determination that led the project. True to her belief, they did show up and they built the water line, doing so as a community. It was Wilma that brought the community back together; Wilma that had faith in them. It was Wilma that worked alongside them as they completed the entire task themselves. Wilma explains in Mankiller that the success of the project was “symbolic of the revitalization of the entire Cherokee Nation.”
What she did was bring power back to the people. Her efforts showcased the simple truth of what amazing feats people can accomplish, especially when others believe in them. This project even inspired a movie, The Cherokee Word for Water.
In the 1983 election for Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation, incumbent Ross Swimmer asked Willa Mankiller to run as his deputy. Her management ability had come to the attention Swimmer, a republican, who recognized that Mankiller, a democrat, (and I’m paraphrasing his words) would do right by the people and that’s what mattered most. Swimmer won the 1983 election and Wilma became the first elected woman to serve as Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation. When Swimmer was appointed to serve as the assistant secretary of the US Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1985, Wilma Mankiller became the first female Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She was re-elected in the position and held it until 1995.
Wilma’s leadership highlights: she tripled her tribe’s enrollment and doubled employment. Infant mortality declined and educational levels rose. Mankiller built new housing, health centers, and children’s programs in northeast Oklahoma. Her leadership on social and financial issues made her tribe a national role model.
Even though she could masterfully bring people together, Wilma Mankiller had to overcame both sexism and racism in doing so. In leading as Principle Chief, she became all the wiser. In the documentary, she keenly says:
“I learned somewhere in my life that in solving problems and dealing with political adversaries, try to do it in the least divisive way possible.”
Thank you, Wilma. May we recall your peaceful leadership and encourage our own elected officials to follow your loving example. Wilma left office in 1995, due to health concerns, but she remained a strong voice worldwide for social justice, native people, and women. She died in 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
Postscript
After writing this piece, I searched for an appropriate photo of Wilma to include and found this article, which thrilled me to discover. Wilma was also a poet! Her poems were published posthumously. You can find them here.
It’s February and currently I’m…
Thinking about the Okeefenokee Swamp and completing this call-to-action from Janisse Ray.
Drinking this tea each day for “Daily Strength.”
Planning my summer garden. First-timer here for a summer garden in the hot and buggy lowcountry! Any advice?
Listening to Bonny Light Horseman’s Rolling Gold Holy album. Her voice! This song is my favorite.
Dreaming of summer, and days spent on the May River Sandbar. They’ll be here soon and that makes me feel happy.
What are you doing where you live?
Thank you for reading!
“My own personal perspective is that I’m a pretty ordinary person that just happened to be given an opportunity to do extraordinary things in my life.” ~ Wilma Mankiller.
I really enjoyed this post. I learned a lot about the inspiring Wilma Mankiller, and I intend to watch the movies that you mentioned. This was like "found art"--inspired by a coin you found! Great work. Thanks for writing.
Wonderful post, Katie! I'd heard of Wilma Mankiller (who can forget that name?) but was unfamiliar with the specifics of her work. So inspiring. I'm going to check out her poetry and also the movies you mentioned. Thanks so much for educating us .... and all from a quarter you picked up off the ground. Serendipity!