Wilma Mankiller - (Women Making History) by Tamrala Swafford Bliss (Paperback)

About the Book

Provides an overview of contemporary federal Indian policy and explores how Wilma Mankiller negotiated the relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the United States in the late 20th century.

Book Synopsis

An excellent resource for students of Native American women's history, Wilma Mankiller provides an overview of contemporary federal Indian policy and explores how Mankiller negotiated the relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the United States in the late 20th century.

Incorporating aspects of federal Indian policy and Cherokee History, chapters explore Mankiller's involvement at the Indian Center, her interactions with other Indian activists, and her participation in the occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969 and the Pit River tribes struggle in the early 1970s. Also covered is Cherokee history from the 1830s concerning the Trail of Tears and its impact on Cherokee identity.

Chronological organization allows readers to discover Mankiller's growth and development from a student activist in San Francisco to a Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in rural northeastern Oklahoma. The book explores the themes of land, education, community, identity, treaty rights and sovereignty, and traditional tribal knowledge.

Review Quotes

"Bliss provides a thorough overview of Mankiller's contributions to the Cherokee Nation, and to Indigenous visibility and sovereignty in the United States more broadly. Bliss nicely situates Mankiller's contributions in the larger context of Native history and US political history-namely relocation policy, Red Power, self-determination policy, and the War on Poverty." --American Historical Review

About the Author

Tamrala Swafford Bliss is Adjunct Professor at University of Maryland Global Campus, USA.