Wilma Mankiller, former Cherokee Nation chief, to deliver public lecture Nov. 9

EUGENE — (Oct. 31, 2005) — Wilma Mankiller, former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, will deliver a free public lecture Nov. 9 titled, "Context Is Everything: History and Culture in Contemporary Tribal Life."

Mankiller will speak at 7 p.m. in the Erb Memorial Union Ballroom at the corner of 13th Avenue and University Street. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

Wilma Mankiller's leadership of the second-largest tribe in the United States was marked by a surge in development, which included several freestanding health clinics and an $11 million Job Corps Center. She also met with presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton to discuss critical tribal issues, and cochaired with Navajo Nation president Peterson Zah a national conference between tribal leaders and cabinet members that led to the establishment of an Office of Indian Justice within the U.S. Department of Justice.

Despite ongoing social and economic problems, Mankiller believes indigenous communities have "much to celebrate" today. "Strong tribal communities and governments are running enterprises, health clinics, and hospitals; certifying our foster homes; handling our own adoptions; negotiating our leases; and taking charge of our future," Mankiller says.

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 and holds honorary doctoral degrees from Willamette University, Yale University, Dartmouth College, Smith College, and other institutions.

Her books include Every Day Is a Good Day and Mankiller: A Chief and Her People. She has contributed articles and essays to a variety of publications, including Native Universe, the inaugural publication of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Mankiller, the 2005-6 Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics, will be in residence at the University of Oregon through November. She is coteaching an ethnic studies class on "Native American Life, Law and Leadership" with UO professor law Rennard Strickland.

 

Link: Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics: http://www.waynemorsecenter.uoregon.edu/pastthemes_2005-07.html