Wilma Mankiller, born November 18, 1945 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was the first woman to serve as Chief of the Cherokee Nation. When she was 11, her family was relocated to San Francisco by the federal government as part of an "urbanization" of Native Americans.
She returned to Oklahoma in 1976 and was hired by the Cherokee Nation as an economic stimulus coordinator. Principal Chief Ross Swimmer invited her to run as his deputy in the 1983 elections. Despite fierce opposition based on her gender, she and Swimmer won, becoming the first woman elected as Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation. In 1985, Swimmer took a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Mankiller became the first woman to serve as Principal Chief, serving until 1995, when health problems led to her retirement.
She passed away in April 2010.
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