Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller was the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and the first woman elected chief of a major Native tribe.

Wilma was born in Oklahoma. When she was 11, her family moved to San Francisco as part of The Indian Relocation Act of 1956. There she began to develop her social activism. She joined Native activists at the American Indian Movement protest at Alcatraz Island in 1969.

Wilma continued to volunteer with Native American communities in California. She supported the Pit River Tribe in its legal battle against Pacific Gas and Electric over the rights to millions of acres of tribal land. She would bring what she learned about tribal sovereignty and treaty rights back to her own Cherokee community.

In 1975, she moved back to Oklahoma. She founded the Community Development Department for the Cherokee Nation, focused on improving access to water and housing. She believed in collective action and created unique projects that empowered local residents. For the department's first project, residents would build their own 16-mile waterline.

Wilma was elected to serve as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1985. During her tenure, she revolutionized the Cherokee healthcare system and created long-lasting community-oriented policies. Under her leadership, infant mortality declined, and educational achievement rose in the Cherokee Nation.