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One of the things my parents taught me, and I'll always be grateful as a gift, is to not ever let anybody else define me that for me to define myself. and I think that helped me a lot in assuming a leadership position.

Wilma Mankiller

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Wilma Mankiller
Age: 64 †
Born: 1945
Born: November 18
Died: 2010
Died: April 6
Author
Autobiographer
Tribal Chief
Writer
Сhief Of The Cherokee Nation
Tahlequah
Oklahoma
Chief Wilman Mankiller
A-ji-luhsgi Asgaya-dihi
Wilma Pearl Mankiller
Ever
Gift
Always
Anybody
Things
Leadership
Think
Parents
Thinking
Position
Define
Taught
Helped
Parent
Assuming
Else
Grateful

More quotes by Wilma Mankiller

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Cows run away from the storm while the buffalo charges toward it - and gets through it quicker. Whenever I’m confronted with a tough challenge, I do not prolong the torment, I become the buffalo.
Wilma Mankiller
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It should be remembered that hundreds of people of African ancestry also walked the Trail of Tears with the Cherokee during the forced removal of 1838-1839. Although we know about the terrible human suffering of our native people and the members of other tribes during the removal, we rarely hear of those black people who also suffered.
Wilma Mankiller
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I want to be remembered as the person who helped us restore faith in ourselves.
Wilma Mankiller
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Friends describe me as someone who likes to sing and dance along the edge of the roof. I try to encourage young women to be willing to take risks, to stand up for the things they believe in, and to step up and accept the challenge of serving in leadership roles.
Wilma Mankiller
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Everybody is sitting around saying, 'Well, jeez, we need somebody to solve this problem of bias.' That somebody is us. We all have to try to figure out a better way to get along.
Wilma Mankiller
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Remember that I am just a woman who is living a very abundant life. Every step I take forward is on a path paved by strong Indian women before me.
Wilma Mankiller
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Women in leadership roles can help restore balance and wholeness to our communities.
Wilma Mankiller
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We celebrate Thanksgiving along with the rest of America, maybe in different ways and for different reasons. Despite everything that's happened to us since we fed the Pilgrims, we still have our language, our culture, our distinct social system. Even in a nuclear age, we still have a tribal people.
Wilma Mankiller
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Look forward. Turn what has been done into a better path.
Wilma Mankiller
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My ability to survive personal crises is really a mark of the character of my people. Individually and collectively, we must react with a tenacity that allows us again and again to bounce back from adversity.
Wilma Mankiller
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We must trust our own thinking. Trust where we're going. And get the job done.
Wilma Mankiller
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Prior to my election, young Cherokee girls would never have thought that they might grow up and become chief.
Wilma Mankiller
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Take care how you place your moccasins upon the Earth, step with care, for the faces of the future generations are looking up from the Earth waiting their turn for life.
Wilma Mankiller
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Individually and collectively, Cherokee people possess an extraordinary ability to face down adversity and continue moving forward.
Wilma Mankiller
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In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.
Wilma Mankiller
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If you argue with a fool, someone passing by will not be able to tell who is the fool and who is not.
Wilma Mankiller
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An Indian is an Indian regardless of the degree of Indian blood or which little government card they do or do not possess.
Wilma Mankiller
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Growth is a painful process. If we’re ever going to collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we’re going to have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level.
Wilma Mankiller
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The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.
Wilma Mankiller
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I've run into more discrimination as a woman than as an Indian.
Wilma Mankiller