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Podcast: Voices of Oklahoma
Episode: Chief Wilma Mankiller
Description: The first woman elected as Chief of the Cherokee Nation was Wilma Pearl Mankiller. She was born November 18, 1945 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Her father was a full-blood Cherokee and her mother was of Dutch and Irish ancestry. Wilma served as Principal Chief from December 1985 – 1995.Wilma Mankiller was motivated to become active in Cherokee tribal affairs due to several life events that she discusses in detail in this interview recorded in 2009.Wilma was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 1986, The Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1994 and received the Presidential Medal of Honor in 1998.