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ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI' UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE INTERSECTION OF FEMINISM AND INDIANNESS IN THE ACHVISM OF LADONNA HARRIS AND WILMA MANKILLER A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By SARAH EPPLER JANDA Norman, Oklahoma 2002 UMI Number: 3059901 UMI UMI Microform 3059901 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition Is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 c Copyright by SARAH EPPLER JANDA 2002 All Rights Reserved THE INTERSECTION OF FEMINISM AND INDIANNESS IN THE ACTIVISM OF LADONNA HARRIS AND WILMA MANKILLER A Dissertation APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY — ert L Hurtado RoDertLrGfi^Qld S a I Clara Sue Kidwell Linda Reese Cindy S. Rosenthal Acknowledgments I have been very fortunate as a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma to work with so many talented professors. The chair of my committee, Albert L. Hurtado, brought enthusiasm and insight to my dissertation. I wish to thank the rest of my committee, Robert L. Griswold, Clara Sue Kidwell, Linda Reese, and Cindy S. Rosenthal for their help as well. I would also like to thank the director of Graduate Studies in History, Paul A. Gilje, who in addition to being a wonderful teacher and mentor, is a remarkable advocate of graduate students. His encouragement, advice, and attention to detail have proven invaluable in helping me in my graduate school career. While writing a dissertation is by nature a solitary and nerve racking endeavor, for me the process was made less so by the fnendship and support of my fnends and fellow grad students. Holly Berkley, Heather Clemmer, Linda English, Robyn McMillin, and Jana Vogt. Despite the demands of family and work, they made the time to read my dissertation and offer me feedback and support at the times when I most needed it. I am indebted to them for their close reading of my dissertation, their advice, and most of all, their humor, for it sustained me even in my most frustrated moments. My gratitude also goes to Willy Bauer for reading my dissertation and offering suggestions. Much appreciation goes to the archivists at the Carl Albert Congressional Research Center and the Western History Collection at the University of Oklahoma. Archivists at NABS College in Chicago and the Cherokee National Archives in Tahlequah, Oklahoma were also very helpful. Although the bulk of my research was conducted in archives, I also had the iv opportunity to interview a number of people associated with my topic. I am grateful to everyone whom I interviewed, as their perspectives added a personal component not always found in archives. In particular, I would like to thank LaDonna Harris for her candor and her willingness to talk with me on numerous occasions. Wilma Mankiller also deserves thanks for taking time out of her busy schedule to respond to written questions. While many people have contributed to my dissertation through their advice and editorial suggestions, any mistakes are mine alone. Finally, I would like to say a word about my husband and colleague, Lance Janda. His love, support, and editing were instrumental at every stage of working on my dissertation. He has never hesitated to drop what he was doing to listen to an idea or offer me advice. The role he played in my dissertation looms large, but pales in comparison to his place in my life. And for that, I am deeply thankful. Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv Table of Contents vi Abstract vii Introduction 1 Chapter One: An Introduction to Politics 16 Chapter Two: An Activist in Her Own Right 57 Chapter Three: Politicizing Beloved Woman 92 Chapter Four: Chief Mankiller and Indian Identity 135 Chapter Five: Beyond the Politics of Indianness 169 Chapter Six: The Intersection of Feminism and Indianness 203 Bibliography 226 VI Abstract My work offers a comparative examination of the use of feminism and Indian identity in the careers of LaDonna Harris and Wilma Mankiller. While they took different paths to political activism, Harris as the wife of a United States senator and Mankiller as the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation, they share a number of similarities. A study of these women, who were the two most prominent Native American women in the twentieth century, offers a useful vehicle through which to imderstand larger issues in federal Indian policy, the role of Native American women in politics, and the use of identity politics. Both received recognition as humanitarians and advocates of women’s rights as well. A comparative study of Harris and Mankiller, therefore, has ramifications at a national level and in a wide variety of areas, including civil rights and the envirorunent. The way each came to national prominence, how they projected their images and identities, and how they have been depicted by the media are issues that are explored throughout. The format consists of an introduction followed by two chapters that focus on LaDonna Harris, two chapters that deal with Wilma Mankiller and two in which they are compared as Native American leaders and as women in politics. The introduction sets up the significance of the work and situates it within the existing historiography. Chapter one deals with how LaDonna Harris became involved in politics as a congressional wife, her work with Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity, which she founded in 1965, and the public relationship of her and her husband. Senator Fred Harris. Chapter two examines how she evolved into an activist in her own right, the founding of Americans for Indian vn Opportunity, and how her national reputation took on an identity separate firom that of her husband. Chapter three examines Mankiller’s early life and then moves into an analysis of Mankiller's election to deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation inl983, her ascension to principal chief in 1985 when Chief Ross Swimmer left to work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and her election to principal chief in 1987. Allegations of sexism in elections and gender-opposition to her leadership are explored as well. Chapter four deals with Mankiller’s tenure as chief froml985-1995. A discussion of her accomplishments, leadership, and symbolism to Indians and non-Indians during a period of renewed interest in Indianness is discussed. Chapters five and six deal with both Harris and Mankiller. Chapter five examines how each is a product of the shift from termination to self-determination and their roles in federal Indian politics. Their use of community development and their prominence in the national arena is evaluated here as well. Chapter six focuses on their role in politics as women, including the influence of feminism and their shared belief that no sexism existed among Indians prior to contact. This chapter concludes by placing them in the larger context of the changing nature of the role of women in politics. V lll Introduction An American Indian woman is primarily defined by her tribal identity. In her eyes, her destiny is necessarily that o f her people, and her sense of herself as a woman is first aruiforemost prescribed by her tribe. ' -Paula Gunn Allen The formation of identity lies at the very core of human experience. It shapes not only the view of self but the lens through which people view the world around them. Certainly, Allen’s description of identity does not apply to all Native American women. However, for LaDonna Harris and Wilma Mankiller, their sense of being Indian women underpinned their constructions of self, their identity, and the image they projected to the outside world. The activism of each became inextricably linked to their identity as Native American women. Both self-identified feminists, Harris and Mankiller affected national policy as they worked on behalf of Native American and women’s issues throughout the latter decades of the twentieth century. As the wife of United States Senator Fred Harris from Oklahoma, LaDonna Harris became the first congressional wife to testify before Congress, founded Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity(OIO) in 1965 and Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) in 1970, and served on scores of federal committees pertaining to both women and Native Americans. Wilma Mankiller became the first female deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1983, the first female principal chief in 1985, and then led her tribe for the next decade. Each altered the place of women in politics, Harris as a congressional 'Paula Gunn Allen, The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions (Boston: Beacon Press, 1986), p.