Wilma Mankiller, RIP
Leave it to Heart to post about an aspect of the life of Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, that I knew nothing about, her longstanding friendship with Gloria Steinem. They met when Ms. Mankiller joined the board for the Ms. Foundation for Women. Reflecting on their long friendship, Ms. Steinem said, “In a just country, she (Wilma) would have been president.” Ms. Steinem told the story of when she asked her old friend whether she should get married at age 66. She considered the marriage between Ms. Mankiller and her husband, Charlie Soap, an equal marriage, which is the only kind of marriage Ms. Steinem would allow for herself.
Mankiller told Steinem she was going to go out into the yard, sit under the stars and think about it.
“I was to call her the next morning,” Steinem said.
Steinem married David Bale, a human rights activist and father of actor Christian Bale, at dawn at the home of Mankiller and Soap in September 2000. Soap performed the ceremony, followed by a female judge who performed a civil ceremony.
Steinem said everyone then sat down to a huge wedding breakfast and went back to bed.
Ms. Mankiller was greatly respected for her leadership and accomplishments, some of which are documented in this article Heart links to at Indian Country Today. President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also honored her passing. She succumbed to pancreatic cancer on April 6, 2010 at the age of 64.
This description of her legacy particularly touched me:
Rebecca Tsosie, an Indian law professor at Arizona State University, is one of many fans who fondly remember meeting Mankiller after one of her public inspirational speeches.
“There are some people who have this rare quality, I guess ‘luminous’ is the best word. That is how I will always remember her. She was powerful, but in a way that was so kind, so compassionate.
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