FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT – John Fancher – 596-7975
Jan. 11, 2006
MANKILLER TO RECEIVE
TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY’S
“CIRCLE OF HONOR” AWARD
As founder of the Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller worked in the ditches helping carry pipe for what would become new housing for Cherokee Nation members.
It was OK for her to do those tasks, nobody had a problem with that.
“But when I wanted to move from that into a leadership position, then all of the sudden everybody had a big problem with that. I was trying to talk about issues and people were trying to destroy my own sense of self by making comments about my being a woman,” said Mankiller. “A comment that remains in my memory is ‘Our tribe would be the laughing stock of all tribes if we elected a woman to lead our tribe.’”
Mankiller, first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, will receive the “Circle of Honor” award March 11, 10 a.m., at Central Library, Fourth Street and Denver Avenue. Family programs will continue throughout day at Central Library featuring dancers, storytellers and crafts.
Sponsored by the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation, Cherokee Builders, Inc., Tulsa City-County Library’s American Indian Resource Center and Tulsa Library Trust, the award consists of a $5,000 honorarium and a bronze medallion.
“Wilma is an inspiration to all women. She has opened doors for Indian women and the Cherokee people,” said Teresa Runnels, American Indian Resource Center coordinator. “She epitomizes what this award represents; a true triumph over oppression.”
The Circle of Honor ceremony honors an American Indian for his or her achievements by acknowledging the inductee’s contribution that have enriched others’ lives and by celebrating the inductee’s action in the face of adversity, commitment to the preservation of American Indian culture and legacy for future generations.
The award ceremony is the highlight of the American Indian Festival of Words, a day of educational and cultural events celebrating the stories, voices and visions of our country’s native sons and daughters. The American Indian Resource Center hosts the festival, held each March.
The Circle of Honor award alternates with the American Indian Festival of Words Author Award, which recognizes, on behalf of the Tulsa County community, nationally acclaimed American Indian authors who have contributed to contemporary literature.
TCCL established the American Indian Resource Center five years ago to provide a support system for this often overlooked segment of the community and to highlight its history and culture. The library has an extensive collection of books and media by and about American Indians.
For more information on the Circle of Honor award or the American Indian Resource Center, call 596-7977 or visit the library’s Web site, Tulsa Library
Contents
January 2006 Reports
Last updated on January 20, 2006