Female Cherokee chief to speak
Wilma Mankiller, the first female leader of a major Native American tribe, will visit the College later this month. Mankiller, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, will deliver a lecture on April 18 after spending most of the day with Native American students. She is widely credited with revitalizing the Cherokee Nation through her efforts in improving health and children's programs. In addition to receiving numerous honorary degrees, including one from Dartmouth in 1991, Mankiller was named Ms. Magazine's Woman of the Year in 1987. Mankiller's visit and her speech titled "Native America: Contemporary Issues in Historical Context," are being sponsored by the Native American Program and the Native American Studies Program, with assistance from the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences. In 1985 Mankiller was appointed chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the second-largest nonassimilated tribe in North America. Mankiller announced Monday that she would retire and not seek re-election next year when her second four-year term expires. Mankiller participated in an occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969 as part of a movement to reclaim land in the name of all "American Indians," which began her career in Native American activism. In 1981 she became director of the Cherokee Nation Community Development Department. She was elected deputy chief of Cherokee Nation in 1983, and two years later was appointed the nation's principal chief.