The historical figure of Wilma Mankiller, the first female leader of the Cherokee nation, is of great importance to the understanding of the cultural identity struggle of the Native Americans. Her biography is highly revelatory for the rebuilding of the Cherokee nation after what was called the Trial of Tears or the Cherokee Removal during the years 1838-1839, because many of the methods she used in her leadership emphasized the importance of the interdependence between the members of the Cherokee communities and the rebuilding of the nation through the reaffirmation of its cultural identity and its traditional resources.
             Wilma Mankiller's historical role is many-sided. Thus, in addition to the role she played in solving the racist issues connected with the identity of the Cherokee people, she also set an important example as a female leader of her people, therefore contributing to the feminist movement. Alongside with these facts, Mankiller also proved that a powerful and influent leader can be born among the poor people, as her family was a numerous and suffered from financial difficulties.
             All the examples that Wilma Mankiller set, were in one way or another, problems that she had to face and surpass in her own life, starting with feeling different from the white people in school, to being confronted with the sexist challenges during her leadership career.
             Mankiller was born in 1945 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, which is seen as the heart of the Cherokee nation. When she was ten years old she moved with her parents to San Francisco, with one of the government programs for relocation, which made it possible for the Native Americans to move from their traditional lands to urban areas. Later, Wilma met her first husband, Hugo Olaya, but their marriage eventually terminated because she became increasingly devoted to Native American problems, of which he strongly disapproved. Her first major political action was her involv...