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By Staff Reports

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller died in the morning hours of April 6 at her home in rural Adair County.

Mankiller, who was one of the few women ever to lead a major American Indian tribe, was 64.

Her passing came a little more than a month after her husband, CN Community Services Group Leader Charlie Soap, announced that she was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. 
 

     

         

             

             
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Mankiller was born on Nov. 18, 1945, in Tahlequah, but died on Tuesday from pancreatic cancer at age 64 in her Rocky Mountain, Okla., home. She served as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1985 to 1995. She took over as chief in 1985 after former Principal Chief Ross Swimmer took a job in Washington, D.C. She was elected to the seat in 1987 and 1991. She resigned from public office in 1995. 

 
Mankiller requested that any gifts in her honor be made as donations to One Fire Development Corporation, a non-profit dedicated to advancing Native American communities though economic development, and to valuing the wisdom that exists within each of the diverse tribal communities around the world. Tax deductible donations can be made at www.wilmamankiller.com as well as www.onefiredevelopment.org. The mailing address for One Fire Development Corporation is 1220 Southmore, Houston, TX 77004.

Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. on April 10 at the Cherokee Nation Cultural Grounds in Tahlequah.