[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1237 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1237
Honoring the life of Wilma Pearl Mankiller and expressing condolences
of the House of Representatives on her passing.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 13, 2010
Mr. Boren (for himself, Mr. Cole, Mr. Rahall, Ms. Fallin, Mr. Sullivan,
Mr. Kildee, Mr. Lucas, Ms. Richardson, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Honda, Ms.
Herseth Sandlin, Mr. Moran of Virginia, and Mr. Baca) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring the life of Wilma Pearl Mankiller and expressing condolences
of the House of Representatives on her passing.
Whereas Wilma was born November 18, 1945, at Hastings Indian Hospital in
Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and had her roots planted deep in the rural
community of Mankiller Flats in Adair County, Oklahoma, where she spent
most of her life;
Whereas at age 10, her family moved to San Francisco as part of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs Relocation Program where she lived for two decades before
returning to Oklahoma in 1977;
Whereas upon returning to Oklahoma, Wilma found a job as a community coordinator
at the Cherokee Nation capital and enrolled in graduate courses at the
University of Arkansas in Fayetteville;
Whereas in 1983, Wilma ran for the office of Deputy Chief alongside Ross
Swimmer, then Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and the two won
the election and took office in August 1983;
Whereas, on December 5, 1985, Wilma was sworn in to replace Chief Swimmer as
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, making her the first female to
hold the office;
Whereas Wilma was formally elected to serve as the first female Principal Chief
of the Cherokee Nation in 1987, and was overwhelmingly re-elected in
1991;
Whereas during her time as Principal Chief, Wilma focused on education and
health care, overseeing the construction of new schools, job-training
centers, health clinics, community development, and a award winning
housing and water projects in low-income communities;
Whereas over the course of her three terms, Wilma made great strides to
reinstate the traditional Cherokee culture and values, especially the
role of women, reinvigorating the Cherokee Nation through community
development projects where men and women work collectively for the
common good;
Whereas during Wilma's tenure she transformed the Nation-to-Nation relationship
between the Cherokee Nation and the Federal Government, met with
Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton to present critical tribal issues,
and co-chaired a national conference between tribal leaders and cabinet
members, which helped facilitate the establishment of an Office of
Indian Justice within the U.S. Department of Justice;
Whereas upon leaving office Wilma continued her endeavors, serving on several
philanthropic boards, including 12 years on the board of trustees of the
Ford Foundation, 4 years on the Board of the Ms. Foundation for Women,
and 4 years on the board of the Seventh Generation Fund and the board of
the Freedom Forum and its subsidiary, the Newseum;
Whereas Wilma presented more than 100 lectures on the challenges facing Native
Americans and women in the 21st century and she served as the Wayne
Morse Professor at the University of Oregon for the fall semester of
2005 where she taught class on tribal government, law, and life;
Whereas Wilma held Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Yale University, Dartmouth
College, Smith College, Mills College, Northern Arizona University,
University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma State
University, Tulsa University, Drury College, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
College, Rhode Island College, New England University, and Northeastern
State University;
Whereas Wilma held many honors, including the Montgomery Fellowship, Dartmouth
College; The Chubb Fellowship, Timothy Dwight College, Yale University;
San Francisco State University, Hall of Fame; an Francisco State Alumna
of the Year (1988), International Women of Distinction Award, Alpha
Delta Kappa, Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame,
National Women's Hall of Fame, International Women's Forum Hall of Fame,
Minority Business Hall of Fame, and she was awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom by then President Bill Clinton for her vision and
commitment to a brighter future for all Americans;
Whereas Wilma published several works, including ``Every Day is a Good Day'',
Fulcrum Publishing 2004, ``Mankiller: A Chief and Her People'', co-
authored, St. Martin's Press 1993, ``A Reader's Companion to the History
of Women in the U.S.'', co-edited, Houghton-Mifflin 1998, and she
contributed to many other publications, including an essay for Native
Universe, the inaugural publication of the National Museum of the
American Indian;
Whereas upon the announcement of her diagnoses in March of 2010, Wilma offered
words of inspiration: ``I want my family and friends to know that I am
mentally and spiritually prepared for this journey; a journey that all
human beings will take at one time or another. I learned a long time ago
that I can't control the challenges the Creator sends my way but I can
control the way I think about them and deal with them. On balance, I
have been blessed with an extraordinarily rich and wonderful life,
filled with incredible experiences. And I am grateful to have a support
team composed of loving family and friends. I will be spending my time
with my family and close friends and engaging in activities I enjoy.
It's been my privilege to meet and be touched by thousands of people in
my life and I regret not being able to deliver this message personally
to so many of you'';
Whereas Chief Mankiller's final days were not marred by the impending sorrow of
her departure, but glowing reminiscence of her influence in years past;
and
Whereas Chief Mankiller passed away in the morning hours of April 6, 2010, at
her home in rural Adair County, Oklahoma: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives expresses--
(1) gratitude to Wilma Mankiller for her significant
contributions to the Nation, an inspiration to women in Indian
Country and across America, and for leaving a profound legacy
that will continue to encourage and motivate all who carry on
her work; and
(2) deep sorrow at the passing of Chief Mankiller and
condolences to her friends and family, especially her husband
Charlie and two daughters, Gina and Felicia, as well as the
Cherokee Nation and all those who knew her and were touched by
her good works.
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