Mankiller: A Chief and Her People (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Author) "Oklahoma became a state..." (more)
Key Phrases: Cherokee Nation, United States, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Written jointly with Wallis ( Pretty Boy: The Life and Times of Charles Arthur Floyd , LJ 3/1/92, among others), this book is an adroitly fashioned dual story of Chief Mankiller's life and a compact history of crucial and poignant episodes in Cherokee history. This contemporary account of the first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation describes the development of a modern-day leader. A tale of personal triumphs and tragedies, it begins with a childhood spent on an allotment farm in Mankiller Flats, Oklahoma, and moves through teenage years in the 1960s as an "urban Indian," a near brush with death, and a life of solid accomplishment in service and tribal leadership rooted in Cherokee culture. As more Native American women are celebrated, it is hoped that many high-quality books like this one will appear. Shelve it next to Gretchen M. Bataille's Native American Women (Garland, 1993). Enthusiastically recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/93.
- Margaret W. Norton, Montay Coll., Chicago
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (August 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312206623
• ISBN-13: 978-0312206628
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #413,425 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Uncommon and Common Cherokee History by Mankiller, November 8, 2000

By	Doris Hale (Grand Rapids, Big Rapids Mich.) - See all my reviews

I spent a whole weekend not just reading but absorbing this work of Wilma Mainkiller.On Sunday I could only describe feeling wonderfully enriched by the experience both personally, as a Euro- and Native American person and also as an American. All of us have been denied major parts of our comon American history with the repression of Native American History. The mid section of the book is purely historical, and so much of it was news to me! (I thought that I knew Native history and yet it would prove that I had alot to learn that weekend.) The interection of Cherokee and African American history is fascinating ! It is a reoccuring theme. What history books cover that? The focus is usually Euro-American to Native American, or Euro-American to African-American. At a personal level the experience was tremendous. Putting personal information together with her history, I learned that I have a matrilineal clan affliation (bird). I feel that as the result of her work I myself ,my family, and descendents have connected with something that would have otherwise been lost. Generations ago, two orphaned Cherokee boys were adopted by a white family in Georgia. One later went "white' the other "red". This is not just my personal background. This is a metaphor for so much of American history. Truely, Cherokee culture is the best kept secret in America today, as the author writes. It is our common cultural heritage, like jazz, like democracy. I relish reading other works by this author ! Doris Hale

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Reading!!, August 13, 2007

By	Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I read this one in four days ~~ it helped that we had some downtime while camping in a small state park. It is a wonderful memoir about a strong woman who, in spite of physical obstacles, managed to lead the second largest Indian Tribe in America. It is not just a memoir about a strong woman, it is also a history of a strong Indian tribe. It is an absolutely wonderful book and one that every serious reader of history should read.

I picked this book up two years ago while traveling in Cherokee, NC, and never found the time to read it till recently, when I knew that we would be outside and camping again. (It seems that I do my best reading when we're traveling ...) I found the subject title fascinating and when I did finally get to the book, I found it even more fascinating and curious. This is a woman in every sense of the word. Wilma Mankiller is a heroine that every woman should look up to ~~ young and old.

Wilma Mankiller grew up in poverty-stricken Oklahoma and while she was still young, her family relocated to California as part of the Native American relocation program that was offered just after WWII. She grew up in California, married young and had two daughters. She became involved with the civil rights movement and at the same time, she has never lost sense of her own heritage. After her marriage fell apart, she moved back home to Oklahoma, went onto working for the Cherokee National Tribe doing various things and eventually became the first Woman Chief. Intermixed with her personal tale are ancient stories from the Cherokee history ~~ of the times before they left their homelands, about the Trail of Tears, and so on. It's history mixed in with personal story-telling and it's a wonderful way to read this book.

Unlike some reviewers, I did not find Mankiller bashing the whites for all their problems ~~ she was very diplomatic in telling the readers about the history ~~ but the history has shown that when the white settlers came to America, they did break treaties and their promises, and there's reason why the Native Americans don't trust them ~~ the government of US and its citizens have not given them reason to. But on the same breath, Mankiller mentions that her tribe has a hard time with change ~~ she doesn't sit there and bemoaned the loss of their ancient lands, she gets out and work on solving the problems that her tribe is facing. She admits that change has occurred and she's very realistic about fixing the problems. I cannot but help admire her for that.

This is an excellent book ~~ it's guaranteed to be a thought-provoker in conversations and discourses ~~ at least it has for my husband and me. It is such an interesting tale about a woman who never learned the words, I can't. She never gave up the fight for her people. This book is just a small testimony to that fight.

8-13-07

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An enlightening version of Cherokee history and a woman., February 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mankiller: A Chief and Her People (Paperback)

The author does an excellent job of reviewing Cherokee history and explaining how the Cherokee individual has assimilated into today's American culture. It was pointed out that education has always been highly valued in the Cherokee tradition and the tribe has remained alive and well because culture never dies when there is communication. The Cherokee people highly value the history of their matriarchs. Women were respected and valued in the tribe. That tradition has surfaced in this century with the leadership of Ms. Mankiller. On a personal note, it was enlightening that Wilma shared much of her personal life with us, the readers. She is blessed to have found a life-partner with Charlie. He comes from a good family. I used to watch the Soap boys play basketball in school. Thanks for a good book about a great people.