Wilma P Mankiller Quotes & Sayings

America would be a better place if leaders would do more long-term thinking. — Wilma Mankiller

I hope many of you will be people that question why things are and why we have to do them the way we have always done them. I hope you will take some risks, exert some real leadership on issues, and if you will, dance along the edge of the roof as you continue for life. — Wilma Mankiller

Individually and collectively, Cherokee people possess an extraordinary ability to face down adversity and continue moving forward. — Wilma Mankiller

It should be remembered that hundreds of people of African ancestry also walked the Trail of Tears with the Cherokee during the forced removal of 1838-1839. Although we know about the terrible human suffering of our native people and the members of other tribes during the removal, we rarely hear of those black people who also suffered. — Wilma Mankiller

I don't think anybody anywhere can talk about the future of their people or of an organization without talking about education. Whoever controls the education of our children controls our future. — Wilma Mankiller

Her hope was to preserve what she called The Way, to keep it alive, for that future moment when the current obsession with excess and hierarchy imploded. Wilma said many Native people believed that the earth as a living organism would just one day shrug off the human species that was destroying it - and start over. In a less cataclysmic vision, humans would realize that we are killing our home and each other, and seek out The Way. That's why Native people were guarding it. — Gloria Steinem

Recognizing the good, not just in one's own personal circumstances, but in the world, makes anything possible. When I am asked about the important characteristics of leadership, being of good, positive mind is at the top of my list. If a leader can focus on the meritorious characteristics of other people and try to play to their strengths as well as find value in even the most difficult situation, she can inspire hope and faith in others and motivate them to move forward. — Wilma Mankiller

I think the most important issue we have as a people is what we started, and that is to begin to trust our own thinking again and belive in ourselves enough to think that we can articulate our own vision of the future and then work to make sure that that vision becomes a reality. — Wilma Mankiller

I've run into more discrimination as a woman than as an Indian. — Wilma Mankiller

A lot of young girls have looked to their career paths and have said they'd like to be chief. There's been a change in the limits people see. — Wilma Mankiller

Be the buffalo. Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee nation, once told me how the cow runs away from the storm while the buffalo charges directly toward it - and gets through it quicker. Whenever I'm confronted with a tough challenge, I do not prolong the torment. I become the buffalo. — Donna Brazile

In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people. — Wilma Mankiller

Take care how you place your moccasins upon the Earth, step with care, for the faces of the future generations are looking up from the Earth waiting their turn for life. — Wilma Mankiller

I learned a long time ago that I can't control the challenges the creator sends my way, but I can control the way I think about them and deal with them — Wilma Mankiller

Look forward. Turn what has been done into a better path. — Wilma Mankiller

We are a revitalized tribe. After every major upheaval, we have been able to gather together as a people to rebuild a community and a government. Individually and collectively, Cherokee people possess an extraordinary ability to face down adversity and continue moving forward. We are able to do that because our culture, though certainly diminished, has sustained us since time inmemorial. This Cherokee culture is a well-kept secret. — Wilma Mankiller

It's like everybody's sitting there and they have some kind of veil over their face, and they look at each other through this veil that makes them see each other through some stereotypical kind of viewpoint. If we're ever gonna collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we're gonna have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level. — Wilma Mankiller

A significant number of people believe tribal people still live and dress as they did 300 years ago. During my tenure as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, national news agencies requesting interviews sometimes asked if they could film a tribal dance or if I would wear traditional tribal clothing for the interview. I doubt they asked the president of the United States to dress like a pilgrim for an interview. — Wilma Mankiller

We celebrate Thanksgiving along with the rest of America, maybe in different ways and for different reasons. Despite everything that's happened to us since we fed the Pilgrims, we still have our language, our culture, our distinct social system. Even in a nuclear age, we still have a tribal people. — Wilma Mankiller

The secret of our success is that we never, never give up. — Wilma Mankiller

Women in leadership roles can help restore balance and wholeness to our communities. — Wilma Mankiller

One of the things my parents taught me, and I'll always be grateful as a gift, is to not ever let anybody else define me; that for me to define myself ... and I think that helped me a lot in assuming a leadership position. — Wilma Mankiller

Remember that I am just a woman who is living a very abundant life. Every step I take forward is on a path paved by strong Indian women before me. — Wilma Mankiller

An Indian is an Indian regardless of the degree of Indian blood or which little government card they do or do not possess. — Wilma Mankiller

Every single person has leadership ability. Some step up and take them. Some don't. My answer was to step up and lead. — Wilma Mankiller

If you argue with a fool, someone passing by will not be able to tell who is the fool and who is not. — Wilma Mankiller

Friends describe me as someone who likes to sing and dance along the edge of the roof. I try to encourage young women to be willing to take risks, to stand up for the things they believe in, and to step up and accept the challenge of serving in leadership roles. — Wilma Mankiller

My ability to survive personal crises is really a mark of the character of my people. Individually and collectively, we must react with a tenacity that allows us again and again to bounce back from adversity. — Wilma Mankiller

Growth is a painful process. — Wilma Mankiller

The happiest people I've ever met, regardless of their profession, their social standing, or their economic status, are people that are fully engaged in the world around them. The most fulfilled people are the ones who get up every morning and stand for something larger than themselves. They are the people who care about others, who will extend a helping hand to someone in need or will speak up about an injustice when they see it. — Wilma Mankiller