"Wilma Mankiller, a pathbreaking leader of the Cherokee people who became an international voice for peace and understanding, died Tuesday.

Mankiller helped lead the Cherokee Nation's return to prominence and served as the tribe's principal chief from 1985 to 1995.

Under her leadership, the Cherokee Nation's membership rolls swelled, and its annual budget nearly doubled.

As chief she advocated for the needs of poor, rural Cherokees through medical clinics and a job center.

Soft-spoken but unrelenting in purpose, Mankiller achieved prominence beyond leadership of the nation's second largest tribe.

After she left the tribe's top post, she became a star lecturer and author, speaking out not only on American Indian issues, but also on efforts to bridge racial and gender divides."

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Editorial: Wilma Mankiller, An influential leader passes (The Tulsa World 4/7)

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