Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Pearl Mankillerwas the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. A liberal member of the Democratic Party, she served as principal chief for ten years from 1985 to 1995. She is the author of a national-bestselling autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People and co-authored Every Day Is a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women...
NationalityCherokee
ProfessionWorld Leader
Date of Birth18 November 1945
CityTahlequah, OK
Wilma Mankiller quotes about
begin deal human move problems veil
If we're ever going to collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we're going to have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level.
almost capacity community credit experience greater learned living oklahoma people poor problems solving
But what I learned from my experience in living in a community of almost all African-American people, and what I learned from my experience in living in my own community in Oklahoma before the relocation is that poor people have a much, much greater capacity for solving their own problems than most people give them credit for.
running challenges storm
Cows run away from the storm while the buffalo charges toward it - and gets through it quicker. Whenever I’m confronted with a tough challenge, I do not prolong the torment, I become the buffalo.
giving-up secret never-give-up-hope
The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.
children our-children
Whoever controls the education of our children controls the future.
women past history
In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.
passing-by able fool
If you argue with a fool, someone passing by will not be able to tell who is the fool and who is not.
leadership moving difficult-situations
Recognizing the good, not just in one's own personal circumstances, but in the world, makes anything possible. When I am asked about the important characteristics of leadership, being of good, positive mind is at the top of my list. If a leader can focus on the meritorious characteristics of other people and try to play to their strengths as well as find value in even the most difficult situation, she can inspire hope and faith in others and motivate them to move forward.
people black suffering
It should be remembered that hundreds of people of African ancestry also walked the Trail of Tears with the Cherokee during the forced removal of 1838-1839. Although we know about the terrible human suffering of our native people and the members of other tribes during the removal, we rarely hear of those black people who also suffered.
acceptance want persons
I want to be remembered as the person who helped us restore faith in ourselves.
waiting environmental generations
Take care how you place your moccasins upon the Earth, step with care, for the faces of the future generations are looking up from the Earth waiting their turn for life.
children educational thinking
I don't think anybody anywhere can talk about the future of their people or of an organization without talking about education. Whoever controls the education of our children controls our future.
tolerance trying prejudice
Everybody is sitting around saying, 'Well, jeez, we need somebody to solve this problem of bias.' That somebody is us. We all have to try to figure out a better way to get along.
running discrimination indian
I've run into more discrimination as a woman than as an Indian.