Book Review:Mankiller: A Chief and Her People

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MANKILLER : A CHIEF AND HER PEOPLE This book is the autobiography of the former Chief of the Cherokee Nation , unfolding her personal story , the history of her people , and the dawning of the Native American Civil Rights struggle . The book is a quest to reclaim and preserve Native American values and to examine her own role as a woman of two cultures and leader of a sovereign nation

Basically the book is a mix of autobiography , traditional tales , and a lengthy history of the Cherokee . Mankiller 's chronicle of

her people churns with energy , whether she 's raking the federal government over the coals or celebrating past Cherokee leaders like Sequoyah . It is dual story of Chief Mankiller 's life and a compact history of crucial and poignant episodes in Cherokee history . This contemporary account of the first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation describes the development of a modern-day leader . A tale of personal triumphs and tragedies , it begins with a childhood spent on an allotment farm in Mankiller Flats , Oklahoma , and moves through teenage years in the 1960s as an "urban Indian " a near brush with death , and a life of solid accomplishment in service and tribal leadership rooted in Cherokee culture . The mid section of the book is purely historical and the interaction of Cherokee and African American history is fascinating and a reoccurring theme

The average Americans are taught very little about the native peoples this book is a must read for those who wish to know the Native American life . Wilma Mankiller 's story is profoundly interwoven with the history of the Cherokee . Once the Cherokee lived in Tennessee and across the South , by the early 1800 's white settlers were pushing them out of their native lands . Some left willingly and established new bases in Arkansas only to be moved later . In the 1830 's two-thirds of the Cherokee Nation were finally rounded up and forced to travel , mostly by foot , on a march now called the Trail of Tears . Those who survived the difficult march were placed on a reservation in Indian Territory . Once there , they were again neglected , the result was a confusion that resulted would greatly affect Mankiller 's early life

The book traces her family saga , when they move out in 1950s from rural Oklahoma to San Francisco in a government relocation project . The federal government came up with a policy of "termination " of tribes to mainstream Native Americans . This policy was trumped up as a "wonderful opportunity for Indian families to get great jobs , obtain good education for their kids , and , once and for all , leave poverty behind " In truth the program gave the government the perfect chance to take Indian people away from their culture and open up the vast Oklahoma territory to white landowners . Wilama is vocal and does not hesitates to vehemently express her views In my view , Oklahoma statehood was a very dark page .the harm heaped on our people .was...