Wilma Mankiller

Paper Summary:

This paper relates that the biography of Wilma Mankiller is of great importance to the understanding of the cultural identity struggle of Native-Americans. The paper discusses her contributions towards the rebuilding of the Cherokee nation after the Trial of Tears or Cherokee Removal during the years 1838-1839.

From the Paper:

"Mankiller was born in 1945 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, which is seen as the heart of the Cherokee nation. When she was ten years old she moved with her parents to San Francisco, with one of the government programs for relocation, which made it possible for the Native Americans to move from their traditional lands to urban areas. Later, Wilma met her first husband, Hugo Olaya, but their marriage eventually terminated because she became increasingly devoted to Native American problems, of which he strongly disapproved. Her first major political action was her involvement in the movement initiated by a group of Native Americans who occupied the Alcatraz island in 1969."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, W. L. Cherokee Removal. New York: Random House, 2000
• Cherokee Cultural Tidbits Index. http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/Cherokee/CherokeeCulturalTidbitsIndex.html
• Edmunds, David R. The New Warriors: Native American Leaders since 1900. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001
• Iverson Peter. "American Indian History as a Continuing Story". The Historian. Vol. 66, 2004
• Langer, Howard J. American Indian Quotations. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1996

More papers on Wilma Mankiller:

• Essay # 27883 : "Wilma Mankiller"
• Term Paper # 24139 : "Impact Of Wilma Mankiller On Feminism"
• Essay # 16821 : "Women's Athletics on the Rise"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: