Wilma Mankiller, dies at 64
Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation?s first female chief, dead at 64
Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation’s first female chief, dead at 64
The first woman to lead the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, died Tuesday after losing a battle with cancer. She was 64.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constituion, she had suffered from lymphoma, breast cancer, and several other ailments, and on Mar. 2, her husband announced she had stage 4 metastic pancreatic cancer.
After the announcement, Mankiller said in a statement released in March, "I learned a long time ago that I can't control the challenges the creator sends my way, but I can control the way I think about them and deal with them."
According to CNN, Mankiller was elected leader of the Cherokee in 1987, and was given the Medal of Freedom—the highest U.S. civilian award—by President Clinton in 1998.
Mankiller brought many issues regarding native Americans to presidents Reagan, the elder Bush, and Bill Clinton during her reign as the Cherokee Nation's chief.
She also released an autobiography in 1993 entitled 'Mankiller: A Chief and Her People.'
Her successor as chief, Chad Smith, said of Mankiller’s passing, “Our personal and national hearts are heavy with sorrow and sadness with the passing this morning of Wilma Mankiller… We feel overwhelmed and lost when we realize she has left us, but we should reflect on what legacy she leaves us. We are better people and a stronger tribal nation because of her example of Cherokee leadership, statesmanship, humility, grace, determination and decisiveness.”
CNN reports that Mankiller is survived by her husband Charlie and two daughters.
A memorial service for Mankiller is scheduled to take place on April 10 at 11 a.m. at the Cherokee Nation Cultural Grounds in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
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