About the Author

Wilma Mankiller was Chief of the Cherokee Nation for over ten years. She lives in Oklahoma.

Michael Wallis is an award-winning historian of the Old West and author of Route 66: The Mother Road.

Reviews

"Autonomy is achieved, Mankiller teaches us, only when it happens simultaneously in the life of the individual and the life of a people." --Susan Faludi "Here is a strong and well-told story of survival and it is told with honesty and eloquence." --N. Scott Momaday "Public servants everywhere can learn something from Chief Wilma Mankiller's story." --Governor Ann Richards "Chief Mankiller tells a story of a modern tribe that is carrying the Cherokee traditions into the future." --U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell

"Mankiller broke all the rules as we knew--and, to some extent, still know--them. A visionary politician and activist with a gentle but determined manner, she offers a model of female leadership more inspirational than ever."--Vogue "Wilma Mankiller is someone I feel I've known in this lifetime and many lifetimes before. I recognize in her the greatest beauty, dignity, and truthfulness." --Alice Walker "As one woman's journey, Mankiller opens the heart. As the history of a people, it informs the mind. Together, it teaches us that, as long as people like Wilma Mankiller carry the flame within them, centuries of ignorance and genocide cannot extinguish the human spirit." --Gloria Steinem "[Wilma Mankiller] is a colorful, intelligent advocate for all of America's indigenous peoples." --The Boston Globe

Since 1985 Wilma Mankiller has been Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, the first woman to hold this post in a major tribe. Her work in rural development, especially the Bell Project in Oklahoma, has received national acclaim. With Wallis ( Route 66 ), Mankiller recounts the tragic history of the Cherokees and her own personal struggles. In the 1950s, her family moved from rural Oklahoma to San Francisco in a government relocation project. It was a traumatic change for the 11-year-old and her 10 brothers and sisters and brought her face-to-face with racism and poverty. The 1969 Indian occupation of Alcatraz, which she supported strongly and participated in to a slight degree, proved a turning point in Mankiller's life. She became an activist in Indian affairs, eventually leaving her husband and returning with her two daughters to her old home. Surviving a debilitating automobile accident and a kidney transplant, she continues to lead her people. In this inspiring story, Mankiller offers herself as a valuable role model--for women as well as Native Americans. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (Nov.)

"Autonomy is achieved, Mankiller teaches us, only when it happens simultaneously in the life of the individual and the life of a people." --Susan Faludi "Here is a strong and well-told story of survival and it is told with honesty and eloquence." --N. Scott Momaday "Public servants everywhere can learn something from Chief Wilma Mankiller's story." --Governor Ann Richards "Chief Mankiller tells a story of a modern tribe that is carrying the Cherokee traditions into the future." --U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell

"Mankiller broke all the rules as we knew--and, to some extent, still know--them. A visionary politician and activist with a gentle but determined manner, she offers a model of female leadership more inspirational than ever."--Vogue "Wilma Mankiller is someone I feel I've known in this lifetime and many lifetimes before. I recognize in her the greatest beauty, dignity, and truthfulness." --Alice Walker "As one woman's journey, Mankiller opens the heart. As the history of a people, it informs the mind. Together, it teaches us that, as long as people like Wilma Mankiller carry the flame within them, centuries of ignorance and genocide cannot extinguish the human spirit." --Gloria Steinem "[Wilma Mankiller] is a colorful, intelligent advocate for all of America's indigenous peoples." --The Boston Globe