She earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 from former President Bill Clinton.
“She was not only the guardian of the centuries-old Cherokee heritage, but a revered leader who built a brighter and healthier future of her nation,” Clinton said at the time, according to CNBC.
While she was living at the Cherokee Nation’s capital of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Mankiller moved to San Francisco by the age of 11, the museum reported. But she said it was “my own little Trail of Tears” because she left the tribe and her grandfather’s farm.
in 1969 she was inspired to fight for the rights of Native Americans after seeing a group occupying Alcatraz Island to protest how Native Americans were treated by the federal government, CNBC reported.
She wrote about that time in her 1993 autobiography “Mankiller: A Chief and Her People,” saying, “When Alcatraz occurred, I became aware of what needed to be done to let the rest of the world know that Indians had rights, too. Alcatraz articulated my own feelings about being an Indian.”
She eventually moved back to her grandfather’s Oklahoma farm where she became active in the tribe, working with the young members and creating new housing and water access.
Mankiller was tapped by then chief, Ross Swimmer, as his running mate. During the campaign, she was the target of hate mail and death threats, but despite that, the ticket won and she was the first female deputy chief of Cherokee Nation.
Two years later , Swimmer stepped down and she became chief. She then won reelection twice.
Mankiller died in 2010 at 64 from pancreatic cancer. President Barack Obama remembered her by saying, “As the Cherokee Nation’s first female chief, she transformed the Nation-to-Nation relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the Federal Government and served as an inspiration to women in Indian Country and across America. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she was recognized for her vision and commitment to a brighter future for all Americans. Her legacy will continue to encourage and motivate all who carry on her work.”
According to the U.S. Mint, Mankiller’s coin will feature her wrapped in a traditional shawl. Next to her will be the seven-pointed star of the Cherokee Nation. The words “principal chief” will also be written in Cherokee syllabary.
The quarter proof set containing all five American Women Quarter Coins went on sale on March 8. Mankiller’s quarter will be released this Spring, the Mint said.
Other coins in the series include ones dedicated to writer Maya Angelou, astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, New Mexico suffragist Nina Otero-Warren and Chinese American actor Anna May Wong.
Through the years FILE - In this July 19, 1985, file photo, Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected chief of the Cherokee Nation, poses in front of the tribal emblem at the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. The U.S. Mint says Mankiller will be among the first five women honored in the new American Women Quarters Program, which starts in 2022 and continues until 2025. (Michael Wyke/Tulsa World via AP) (Uncredited/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Through the years Wilma Mankiller, who was chief of the Cherokee from 1985 to 1995, put much of her focus on education, health and housing. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter) (J. Pat Carter/AP)
Through the years President Ronald Reagan, with interior Secretary Donald Hodel at his side, meets on Monday, Dec. 12, 1988 in the White House Cabinet Room in Washington with Wilma Mankiller, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Tahlequah, Oka. and Leonard Burch, right, chairman of the Southern Ute Tribe of Ignacio, Col. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook) (Dennis Cook/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Through the years Chief of the Choctaw Indians of Mississippi Phillip Martin confers with Wilma Mankiller, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, as they appear before a Senate Affairs Special Investigations subcommittee hearing in Washington D.C., on Jan. 30, 1989. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander) (MARCY NIGHSWANDER/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Through the years First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with members of the National Tribal Summit on Indian Health Care Reform in Capitol Hill in Washington on March 17, 1993. The Honorable Wilma Mankiller, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, left, and Larry Echohawk, Idaho attorney general listen. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi) (Charles Tasnadi/AP)
Through the years FILE - In this Sept. 19, 1996 file photo, Wilma Mankiller, former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, gestures during a news conference, in Tulsa, Okla. Mankiller, who has been diagnosed with systemic lymphoma and has been undergoing treatment in Boston, returned to Oklahoma to update her condition. Mankiller, 64, has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer but offered no other details. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke, File) (MICHAEL WYKE/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Through the years FILE - In this Jan. 15, 1998 file photo, President Bill Clinton hugs former Cherokee Nation chief Wilma Mankiller after presenting her with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House. Mankiller, one of the few women ever to lead a major American Indian tribe, died Tuesday April 6, 2010 after battling pancreatic cancer. She was 64. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File) (DENNIS COOK/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Through the years The Wilma Mankiller, left and Nina Otero-Warren quarters, are displayed above Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen as speaks to employees after touring The Denver Mint in Denver, Friday March 11, 2022. The Denver Mint is one of two locations that locations manufacturing coins for the new American Women Quarters Program which includes the Maya Angelou quarter dollar coin. (Jason Connolly/Pool via AP (JASON CONNOLLY/AP)