First Female Cherokee Chief

Wilma Mankiller was born in Oklahoma and was the first female Cherokee chief.  She was a strong and articulate civil rights proponent and figure for both Native causes and women’s causes.  I found that her assertions that most “American” women know very little about Native American women, and the little that they do know has been tainted by Hollywood, and is largely negative or not quite accurate.  I find that an interesting statement because, I don’t think that it’s only limited to American women; I feel American men know very little accurate information about actual Native American women. 

I feel that it shows just how civilized the Native tribes were because a number of them have women equal or even higher status than men (referencing at least matriarchal Native tribe of the Eastern Woodlands that I am familiar with).  This like so many other facts completely refute the Europeans views of the Natives as being uncivilized.  The only way for people to gain a more accurate view of who the Natives were/are is going to be through education and strong advocates like Wilma.

As far as female role models go, I could think of few that would be better than Wilma Mankiller. She personifies, in my estimation, a fantastic role model for both Natives and non-Native alike.  It is unfortunate that I had not learned about her prior to this class, as it may have given me a broader perspective of what it’s like to be a Native female in this country before beginning this course.