[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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