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plaidpladd's review
4.0
The scope of this book really surprised me: it's both a personal memoir and a broader history of the Cherokee. I learned a lot.
rmwh's review
4.0
I read this book for a Women & Gender Studies class and it opened my eyes to the full Native American experience in California, not just the footnotes we're given in history classes. We tend to think of the trail of tears as the end of Native relocation, but it continues in many insidious ways. As for the author herself, she does an excellent job of sharing personal details and connecting her family to the overall Native experience. Highly recommend.
esmeralda's review
a fascinating book about a truly admirable woman and a lovely introduction to the history of the Cherokee people.
well worth the time spent reading.
well worth the time spent reading.
lizmart88's review
3.0
Wilma Mankiller was elected to be the first female chief of a Native American tribe in 1991, when she was elected by the Cherokee Tribe. This is her story.
It's a memoir that incorporates her life with history mostly about the Cherokee Tribe, but other seminal Native American events.
It reads easily. She starts each chapter with a traditional Cherokee story, which was fun to learn more about their folklore. Some chapters are more indigenous history and others focus more on her life.
She is an incredible woman who survived a near death car accident, kidney disease and a kidney transplant, while raising two strong girls. She lived in Oklahoma and San Francisco area, and was involved in the Alcatraz uprising of the late sixties, which spurred her entry into politics and organizing.
Definitely recommend!
It's a memoir that incorporates her life with history mostly about the Cherokee Tribe, but other seminal Native American events.
It reads easily. She starts each chapter with a traditional Cherokee story, which was fun to learn more about their folklore. Some chapters are more indigenous history and others focus more on her life.
She is an incredible woman who survived a near death car accident, kidney disease and a kidney transplant, while raising two strong girls. She lived in Oklahoma and San Francisco area, and was involved in the Alcatraz uprising of the late sixties, which spurred her entry into politics and organizing.
Definitely recommend!
oriad313's review
5.0
Mankiller is an amazing and tells her story with remarkable balance. She uses traditional storytelling formats and folk stories to introduce the history of her people and contextually her personal experiences within that history. Her pride in her people is balanced with an unassuming humility that never under- or overstates the impact of her work. I love how this book weaves together multiple narratives so clearly. Her personal chronology at the beginning and the historical timeline at the end provide helpful bookend to people not used to a narrative style that moves between times. I found it engaging and well researched while using language that is straight forward enough for a school aged reader to follow. Highly recommend.
jenniferbbookdragon's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I had the pleasure of hearing Wilma Mankiller speak in the early 1990s, and her passion for justice and equality were clear. Her book does a great job weaving the history and traditions of the Cherokee Nation with her personal story, and this strengthens both. Mankiller's life and work were filled with many challenges and enormous achievements.
baghaii's review
4.0
Wilma Mankiller is a former chief of the Cherokee people who died in 2010.
In this book, she weaves her own biography into a larger history of the Cherokee people while starting each chapter with short excerpts that are related to the creation myths and values of the Cherokee people.
From reading this book, I learned that the Cherokee syllabary was not created until the early 1800s by Sequoyah.
I learned that a lot of older Cherokee people were Republicans because they still hated Andrew Jackson for the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Mankiller grew up as one of eleven children in her family. She grew up in poverty in rural Oklahoma until the family was moved to San Francisco when the Bureau of Indian Affairs felt it was best to get Indians off the reservations and into the rest of society.
Mankiller was friends with Gloria Steinem and struggled with a number of health complications during her life including a debilitating kidney disease.
In this book, she weaves her own biography into a larger history of the Cherokee people while starting each chapter with short excerpts that are related to the creation myths and values of the Cherokee people.
From reading this book, I learned that the Cherokee syllabary was not created until the early 1800s by Sequoyah.
I learned that a lot of older Cherokee people were Republicans because they still hated Andrew Jackson for the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Mankiller grew up as one of eleven children in her family. She grew up in poverty in rural Oklahoma until the family was moved to San Francisco when the Bureau of Indian Affairs felt it was best to get Indians off the reservations and into the rest of society.
Mankiller was friends with Gloria Steinem and struggled with a number of health complications during her life including a debilitating kidney disease.
samtheowl96's review
5.0
A fucking mazing !! Wilma is a great woman, and very respectful. I would love to meet her one day.