University Communications Keynote Address For Women's History Month at Emory To Be Given By Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller WHO: Wilma Mankiller, former chief of the Cherokee Nation WHAT: Keynote address and book signing WHERE: Cannon Chapel, 515 Kilgo Circle, Emory. WHEN: 7:45 p.m., Wednesday, March 29 COST: Free. For more information call 404-727-2001. To see a map of campus, go on-line to www.emory.edu/MAP/. For a complete listing of Women's History Month events at Emory, go to www.emory.edu/WOMENS_CENTER/WHMCalendar00.html. Wilma Mankiller, former chief of the Cherokee nation, will deliver the keynote address for Emory's celebration of Women's History Month. Mankiller will address this year's theme, "The Women We Come From." Following her talk, Mankiller will sign copies of her autobiography, "Mankiller: A Chief and Her People," and "The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History" that she co-edited. In addition to serving as the first female principle chief of the Cherokee nation, Mankiller is the recipient of the 1998 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian award. As the leader of the Cherokee people she represented the second largest tribe in the United States, the largest being the Dine (Navajo) Tribe. Mankiller was the first female in modern history to lead any major Native American tribe. With an enrolled population of more than 140,000, an annual budget of more than $75 million, and more than 1,200 employees spread over 7,000 square miles, her task could be compared to that of chief executive officer of a major corporation. Mankiller first became head of the Cherokee Nation in 1985 as interim chief and was subsequently elected principle chief in 1987. Her candidacy was not without controversy because of her gender, but she was re-elected in 1991 and 1995, and is well-respected by Cherokee people. Mankiller attributes some of her success to her understanding of her people's history, in part through first-hand experience of the federal government's campaign to mainstream Native Americans by relocating them from their tribal homeland. Just before her 11th birthday, Mankiller's family was relocated to San Francisco where she remained until 1974 before returning to the land given to her paternal grandfather shortly after Oklahoma became a state in 1907. She became involved in Native American activism following the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz Island by university students attracting attention for issues affecting their tribes. Following a near-fatal car accident and later diagnosis with a chronic neuromuscular disease, Mankiller became heavily involved in economic and community development within the Cherokee Nation. She headed the Bell Community Project that revitalized much of the Cherokee community and laid a 16-mile water line and improved many Native American homes. The success of the project brought her national recognition for community development and is credited with improving the social and economic conditions of her people. Mankiller, whose name is an old Cherokee military title given to the person in charge of protecting the village, is proud to serve as a role model for all women and of Cherokee girls in particular. "Prior to my election, young Cherokee girls would never have thought that they might grow up and become chief," she says. In addition to her advocacy for Native American issues, she has been active in the larger civil rights movement and active in supporting women's activities and issues. Other events remaining during Emory's celebration of Women's History Month include: March 20-21 Fiction writer Allegra Goodman will read from her works, followed by a reception and book signing. She is the author of the short story collections "Total Immersion" (published in 1989 on the day she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard) and "The Family Markowitz," and the novel "Kaaterskill Falls," a National Book Award finalist. Reading 8:15 p.m. March 20. Colloquium 2:30 p.m. March 21. Jones Room, Woodruff Library, 540 Asbury Circle, Emory. Free. 404-727-4683 March 22 "Heather's Mommy Speaks Out." Lecture by Leslea Newman, lesbian author of "Heather Has Two Mommies," "The Femme Mystique," "Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear," and many others. 7:45 p.m. Winship Ballroom, Dobbs University Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory. Free. 404-727-2001 March 23 "Women Making A Difference." A panel discussion with Emory's Rosalynn Carter Distinguished Fellows in Public Policy. Panelists include Frank Mays Hull, judge on the Federal Court of Appeals; Rita Jackson Samuels, founder of the Georgia Coalition of Black Women; and Alicia Philipp, president of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Inc. 8 p.m., Faculty Dining Room, Dobbs University Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory. Free. 404-727-0096 Through March 23 Emory Campus Life Art Gallery. "Hungry Souls: Nourishing Ourselves Through Art," an exhibit for Women's History Month. The artwork-rendered in various media-is by men and women at various stages of recovery from eating disorders. Gallery hours 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Dobbs University Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory. Free. 404-727-2787 March 25 "Cabbagetown: 3 Women." A play inspired by Brenda Bynum and adapted by Cary Bynum that tells the story of three Cabbagetown women who came from the North Georgia mountains to work in the mill. 5 & 8 p.m. Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs University Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory. $5 Emory students, $10 public. Proceeds benefit Friends of Emory Women's Center. 404-727-5050 March 31 "Stella Maris." Screening of the 35mm Mary Pickford film. 7:30 p.m. 205 White Hall, 480 Kilgo Circle, Emory. Free. 404-727-2001 Through March 31 "Women in Their Own Write: Digital Texts from Aphra Behn to Hannah Woolley." An exhibit on the work of the Emory Women Writers Resource Project, Lewis H. Beck Center for Electronic Collections and Services of the Robert W. Woodruff Library. Corridor Gallery of Schatten Gallery, Woodruff Library, 540 Asbury Circle, Emory. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Free. 404-727-6861 Return to Archived Public Events Releases |
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