Wilma Mankiller to Speak at Carleton College

Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to serve as principal chief of the Cherokee nation, will present the convocation address “The Challenge Ahead: Protecting Our Land and Life Ways” at 10:50 a.m. on Friday, April 18 at Carleton College’s Skinner Memorial Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

Mankiller was the first female in modern history to lead a major Native American tribe. With an enrolled population of over 140,000, an annual budget of more than $75 million, and more than 1,200 employees spread over 7,000 square miles, Mankiller compares her job to “running a small country, a medium-size corporation and being a social worker.” To assist Native Americans in solving their own economic problems, she founded the Cherokee Nation Community Development department, which received several national awards for its innovative use of self-help for building housing and water systems in impoverished communities. During her tenure as principal chief, the budget doubled, tribal membership tripled, and services to families and children were greatly expanded.

Mankiller, who left office in 1995, co-authored “Mankiller: A Chief and Her People,” co-edited the “Reader’s Companion to the History of Women in the U.S.” and served as a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth College. She has been honored with many awards for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.