Wilma Mankiller is a nationally renowned Indian activist and a recipient of the American Indian Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Mankiller was the first Native American 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.

Mankiller has visited Oregon on several occasions, and taught a seminar at the University of Oregon last fall. This week, she was in the Bay Area to speak at the 2007 Heart of the American Indian Women's National Conference hosted by the Coquille Tribal Council.

The recipient of more than 20 awards has been 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 including 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.