Re-aired November 2018
Learn about the legacy of Wilma Mankiller, who overcame sexism to emerge as the Cherokee Nation's first woman Principal Chief. Through archival footage and interviews, Mankiller examines the life of one of the country's most important woman leaders.
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Providing Support for PBS.org
Wilma was sent to San Francisco where she became involved in the fight for human rights.
Wilma organized the small town of Bell to complete a waterline as a self-help project.
This is the story of an American hero, standing tall amongst the likes of Robert Kennedy, Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and overcoming insurmountable obstacles to fight injustice and give a voice to the voiceless.
This is the story of an American legend, Wilma Mankiller, who overcame rampant sexism and personal challenges to emerge as the Cherokee Nation’s first woman Principal Chief in 1985.
As a child, Wilma’s family was relocated from Oklahoma to San Francisco. Although the move was traumatic, it was in the Bay Area, during the turbulent 1960s, that she became involved in the fight for civil rights and joined the Alcatraz Occupation. Wilma brought this passion back to the Cherokee Nation, where she was re-elected by her people to serve three terms as the Cherokee’s highest leader. While in office, she provided the foundation for the Nation’s current economic and cultural status as one of the most successful tribes in America.
Although she considered herself a liberal Democrat, as Deputy Chief, she was chosen by a conservative Republican, and she was known as a uniter of all people. Wilma launched many cutting-edge initiatives that substantially improved living conditions during her tenure. In 1990, she signed an unprecedented Cherokee Nation self-determination agreement with the federal government, in which the Nation took control of its own funding, programs, and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1998, recognizing her impressive leadership and achievements, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Medal of Freedom. A stalwart activist for women's rights, Wilma Mankiller was cited by the organizers of the January 2017 Women's March on Washington as one of the most important leaders in America's movement for equality.
"Mankiller" reminds audiences of the true meaning of servant leadership and serves as a wake-up call to take action for positive change.
Wilma Mankiller is sworn into office as Deputy Chief in 1983.
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Wilma Mankiller Foundation
Wilma Mankiller reads to young students.
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Wilma Mankiller Foundation
Wilma Mankiller and colleagues hold ceremonial shovels at the ground-breaking of the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center.
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Wilma Mankiller Foundation
Wilma Mankiller is sworn into office as Principal Chief in 1987. From left: Wilma Pearl Mankiller, Charlie Soap (Wilma’s husband) and then-Chief Justice of the Cherokee Nation, Philip Viles.
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Wilma Mankiller Foundation
Wilma Mankiller
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Red-Horse Native Productions, Inc./Valhalla Entertainment
On location, the "Mankiller" documentary crew interviews Felicia Olaya, Wilma’s daughter, at the Mankiller home in Oklahoma.
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Evan Taylor
On location in Oklahoma, the "Mankiller" documentary crew interviews Chad Smith, former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
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Evan Taylor
On location in Oklahoma, the "Mankiller" documentary crew interviews Mark Downing, a former staff member of Wilma Mankiller’s.
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Evan Taylor
On location in San Francisco, the "Mankiller" documentary crew interviews Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz.
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Curt Mohl
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