Title: Wilma Mankiller Speaks at Women of ELCA Convention
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
July 11, 1996
MANKILLER SHARES LESSONS OF LEADERSHIP
96-WO-06-FI
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- "I lost a fear of death, and so I lost a
fear of life," Wilma Mankiller told about 6,000 participants attending
the Third Triennial Convention of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America here July 11. A near fatal traffic accident in 1979
changed her life.
Mankiller described "my own journey from a young woman with
little self-confidence to a woman who could stand up and say, I can
lead the second largest tribe in the United States.'"
She was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma from
19856to 1995, and she now directs the Cherokee Development Plan which
she founded.
"I wanted to share with them some of the things that have been
helpful to me, both while evolving as a leader and once I was in a
leadership position," Mankiller said after giving the keynote address.
She told the audience she was most surprised by how many people
opposed her gender, but not her politics. "It was one of the most
hurtful, painful things I have ever gone through," said Mankiller.
"Don't argue with fools," she said. Ignore those who debate
"women in leadership," and focus on the issues. "Fight against having
negative thoughts about people, but look for the positive in
everyone."
"I never saw a barrier as an excuse to give up," she said.
The Cherokee Nation has an enrolled population of more than
140,000 and an annual budget of more than $75 million, with more than
1,200 employees. The largest tribe in the United States is the Dine
(Navajo) Tribe.
Mankiller learned "community" and "a sense of interdependence"
when, as a child, the U.S. government relocated her family from
Oklahoma to California. "I grew up in a political environment," she
said.
Several events set the stage for Mankiller's transformation.
When college students occupied Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay in
1969, she felt they were saying what she was afraid to say about the
treatment of Native Americans. Through the 70s women were taking
more active roles "in virtually every sector of society."
The car accident and a near-death experience added a spirituality
to Mankiller's life that helped her cope with a series of illnesses,
years of surgical procedures, and all the pressures of politics. "I
was so close to death, I know what it feels like," she said. "It's
like the greatest love you'll ever have."
"When I came out of that experience, I was much more focused and
convinced there is a higher being," said Mankiller.
"Christians think an ideal life is to live like Christ. Some
tribes say we need to walk in balance. What I would say is that we
need to be of good mind," she said, stressing the commonalities of all
world religions.
Mankiller said the hardest thing she ever did was to stand up at
her first meeting and to say "I disagree with the direction things are
going ... There's a better way."
When she took a job with the tribal office, there were no female
executives. As she began to develop programs that brought money to
the tribe, Mankiller began "moving up" in the organization.
She was elected deputy chief in 1983 and became chief in 1985,
when Ross Swimmer left that post to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Mankiller was elected chief in 1987 and re-elected in 1991. She
decided not to run for re-election in 1995.
"I like the label feminist.' I like being considered an
advocate for women," said Mankiller, but stereotypes only divide us.
"There is such a lack of accurate information that people fill
those voids with negative stereotypes," she said. "I hope my being
with you today will clear up any stereotypes of what you might have
about what a chief looks like."
The Third Triennial Convention of Women of the ELCA is July 11-14
at the Minneapolis Convention Center. There are 5,650 registered
participants.
For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service,
(312) 380-2958; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955; Lia
Christiansen, Asst. Dir., (312) 380-2956
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