"Leading Native Nations," the Native Nations Institute performed an interview with the Late Cherokee Chief, Wilma Mankiller. Mankiller shares her story about working to help the Cherokee Nation to have self-reliance. This interview is a perfect example of how a Native American community showed resilience after being mistreated by the U.S. government. Wilma speaks of the strong resilience that the Cherokee Nation has for picking up the pieces after going through much
hardships. She spoke of the Cherokee Nation as a revitalized tribe,
stating that, “After every major upheaval, we have been able to gather together
as a people and rebuild a community and a government.” (NNI database.org) I immediately connected part of her story to
one Native American Oral history. This goes along with the story of how the Tobacco
plant and the Yucca plant survived the flood waters and became symbols of
strength and resilience throughout the Native American communities.
When asked to
define a strong healthy Native community her thoughts were that a strong
community had the ability to think and plan for themselves without having
others come up with solutions to their problems. (NNIdatabase.org) I really liked the way Wilma Mankiller brought
the community i.e. families into the cause of promoting a sovereign nation. Her
ideas on including the people gave them a sense of self worth. Through her
practice of helping people help themselves is a show of her humanitarian characteristics.
She gave her time and worked personally with the Native community and was also
their voice in their political office. She believed in her people’s ability to
revitalize themselves. I was really impressed with her desire to always include
the people. In the interview she spoke about conducting community meetings “ … so I think that for me the idea of
listening is key to good leadership." (NNI database.org) Even in the
large constitutional convention she expressed the need to have separate conventions
so that everyone had the ability to participate and understand the information
before putting in a vote. This is important because she was giving everyone the
same opportunities despite the different levels of social stratification that
exist.
Wilma Mankiller was a natural leader
who cared for her community. When Mankiller was put into office she kept
reiterating to her community the strength of their past she gave them something to be
proud of and I think that really helped to boost their abilities going forward.
This interview
tells the story of how Wilma Mankiller acted as a Political figure for her
people. I think that this interview is a good example of how transformation and
resilience was achieved by the Cherokee Nation.
“Wilma Mankiller: Governance, Leadership
and the Cherokee Nation.” Search. N.p., n.d.
Web. 25 June 2016
Jumanah, Thank you for highlighting the connection between plants and people in your review...the way the yucca and tobacco survived amidst hardship reflecting the way the Cherokee are also resilient is a beautiful image and one I can relate to. Right now there has been no rain in our usually wet upstate New York for many days. The grass is dry and crispy, and so is my soul. We are all connected. When the rains come and the plants thrive again, so will we. Blessings for this intimate connection between humans and plants, both inspirationally and practically to serve us both.
ReplyDeleteJumanah, I love that you mentioned about oral histories. I was looking at the Facebook page for Empire State College and someone mentioned that they took a course on oral histories. I wish I didn't have my classes all plotted out until graduation because that one sounds interesting. Wilma was an example of keeping oral histories alive. I commented this same thing on another blog post but I found it so uplifting when she spoke of inspiring the people to do the work that needs to be done. And as you said, the people need to informed about what they are voting on and be active participants. Her sentiments regarding resilience were wonderful and a great testament to the ability of the Native Americans to rebuild and refocus despite adversity.
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