Wilma Mankiller
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
1945–2010 · Cherokee Nation
Expanded Cherokee governance, community development, health, and education while becoming a landmark Indigenous woman in public leadership.
The Full Profile
Wilma Mankiller, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, expanded Cherokee governance, community development, health, and education while becoming a landmark Indigenous woman in public leadership. Wilma Mankiller became the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Her administration emphasized community-led infrastructure, health services, education, and stronger tribal institutions. She became a nationally influential voice on Indigenous sovereignty, women's leadership, and Native community development. She first won national notice by organizing the impoverished community of Bell to build its own water line, then led the Cherokee Nation through a decade of growth built on gadugi — working together; in 2022 she became the first Native woman to appear on a U.S. quarter.