Nation Pays Tribute To Former Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller

NewsOn6.com

TAHLEQUAH, OK -- The memorial service for Former Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller was held Saturday morning. Hundreds of members of the Cherokee Nation and 170 tribal, state and federal officials gathered at the service in Tahlequah.

Mourners entering and leaving the Cherokee National Cultural Grounds in Tahlequah were accompanied by the sound of traditional Cherokee drumming.

Wilma Mankiller broke barriers and stereotypes, becoming the first woman to lead a Native American tribe before succumbing to cancer Tuesday morning. She was 64.

Read Wilma Mankiller's Final Message Written Four Days Before Her Death

"She was such a monumental leader in Indian Country and certainly within the Cherokee Nation because, ironically or perhaps appropriately, she was so humble," current Cherokee Chief Chad Smith said.

"I remember the iconic image of her in a white dress, like something she had just worn to church, on the front porch playing with her nephews and nieces. Just three days earlier, she had received the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

Her daughters, Gina and Felicia Olaya, remembered their mother for more personal things. Mankiller was an avid sports fan, a lover of stray dogs and cats, and a woman who respected life so much she would carry insects outside rather than destroying them.

At the request of the family, speakers wore something pink in tribute to Mankiller's favorite color.

4/6/2010 Related Story: Remembering Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller

Other speakers at the memorial service included Charlie Soap, Chief Mankiller's husband;  Honorable Chief Judge Robert Henry; Ross O. Swimmer, Former Principal Chief; John A. Ketcher, Former Deputy Principal Chief, and other friends.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.