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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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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
Might
Girls
Never
Grow
Would
Grows
Girl
Cherokee
Thought
Prior
Become
Chief
Young
Chiefs
Women
Election

More quotes by Wilma Mankiller

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A lot of young girls have looked to their career paths and have said they'd like to be chief. There's been a change in the limits people see.
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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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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People say that crisis changes people and turns ordinary people into wiser or more responsible ones.
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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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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We must trust our own thinking. Trust where we're going. And get the job done.
Wilma Mankiller
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I don't think anybody anywhere can talk about the future of their people or of an organization without talking about education. Whoever controls the education of our children controls our future.
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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Whoever controls the education of our children controls the future.
Wilma Mankiller
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Negative thoughts were treated by Cherokee healers with the same medicines as wounds, headaches, or physical illness. It was believed that unchecked negative thoughts can permeate the being and manifest themselves in negative actions.
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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The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.
Wilma Mankiller
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I learned a long time ago that I can't control the challenges the creator sends my way, but I can control the way I think about them and deal with them
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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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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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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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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America would be a better place if leaders would do more long-term thinking.
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