NORTH BEND - The Coquille Indian Tribe is preparing to host its first national Native American conference in April.

The first national conference to be hosted by the tribe, the 2007 Heart of the American Indian Women's Conference, will feature nationally renowned native speakers and performers, and showcase the South Coast region. According to conference organizer Denise Hunter, the event, which will include two days of discussion, workshops and activities, will run from April 25 through April 27.

Wilma Mankiller, a nationally renowned Indian activist and a recipient of the American Indian Presidential Medal of Freedom, will deliver the keynote address. The topic of her address, opportunities for Indian women to achieve leadership roles in their tribe, also will be the theme for the annual conference.

“Wilma has spoken on this sort of thing before, and she's really supportive of younger women,” Hunter said. “We're hoping we're going to have a great turnout, because she is such an amazing woman.”

Mankiller was the first Native woman to assume a principal chief role in the 20,000-member Cherokee Nation. Re-elected to her post in 1987 and 1991, she retired due to health problems in 1995. Mankiller has extensive experience in leadership, governance and community development, and has contributed to improved infrastructure and health services among the Cherokee and other tribes throughout the country.

“I agreed to speak at this conference because I have had an opportunity to meet a number of remarkable native women from Oregon and from the Southwest. It is a great honor for me,” Mankiller said in an e-mail Wednesday.

A frequent guest speaker at conferences throughout the country, Mankiller said she often discusses contemporary Native American issues, leadership and women's challenges.

“Women's tribal leadership is very important to me. When I first ran for office in 1983, there were only 69 women in tribal leadership positions. Now there are more than 130,” she said. “I have always believed that the world will be a better place when we have more equity and balance between men and women in every aspect of our lives.”

Mankiller has visited Oregon on several occasions, and taught a seminar at the University of Oregon last fall. During her time in Eugene she visited many surrounding areas, including Coos Bay and North Bend.

She is the recipient of more than 20 awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was inducted into the U.S. Women's Hall of Fame. In addition to an undergraduate degree in social sciences, Mankiller has received 14 honorary doctorate degrees from universities such as Yale and Dartmouth.

An author as well as a highly-prized public speaker, she published “Every Day is a Good Day,” in 2004; co-authored “Mankiller: A Chief and Her People,” with Michael Wallis in 1993; and co-edited “A Reader's Companion to the History of Women in the U.S.,” with Gloria Steinem and Gwendolyn Mink in 1998.

Mankiller said she is looking forward to speaking at the Heart of the American Indian Women's conference in April.

“There are dozens of Native women who could have served as keynote speaker. I know they had a lot of choices and feel privileged that they chose to invite me,” she said.

To secure Mankiller as a speaker is an enormous boon for the tribe's first national conference, Hunter said.

“Wilma Mankiller is huge,” agreed Michele Burnette, a board member of the Coquille Economic Development Corp. “She's just about every Indian woman's role model.”

Gathering Native culture

Burnette will open the conference with a discussion on the Coquille Tribe's successful restoration project. The event also will include lectures and presentations by Bob Lane of the Siletz Indian Tribe; Laura Wong Whitebear, the president of the Northwest Native American Basketweavers Association; demonstrations on native art forms; a canoe journey; and a performance by Native American singer Pura Fe.

A founding member of the internationally renowned native a capella trio ‘Ulali,' Fe has toured the world singing a combination of native music and jazz. She has sung at conferences, concerts, festivals, nightclubs and benefits on behalf of environmental and humanitarian rights; and has shared the stage with Jackson Brown, the Indigo Girls, Ben Harper, Sting, Chuck Berry and many others.

“She's traveling in Europe right now and will be coming back specifically for our conference,” Hunter said.

With both Mankiller and Fe in attendance, Burnette said the conference will be an inspiring experience for both men and women, native or not.

Registration for the conference started Jan. 1, and will continue through Feb. 23. According to Hunter, the registrations are only now beginning to come in but the tribe expects attendees to come from all over the country.

“We're getting a good response, but we won't know until later in the year how many people will attend,” she said.

For more information, those interested can go to http://www.coquilletribe.org, or call 756-0904.