Gail Small and Wilma Mankiller- Mid Term

My pdf document wouldn't upload, so here it is without the images...

The Journey Beyond
Spiritual Identities and Struggles of Native Women
Gail Small
Wilma Mankiller
Gail Small, Head Chief Woman, Northern Cheyenne
"In our language, Cheyenne means ‘beautiful people.’ There is a spiritual element to everything we do. Spirituality is the essence of Cheyenne people. Environment, culture, religion, and life are very much interrelated in the tribal way of life. Indeed they are often one and the same... There is a profound spiritual dimension to our natural environment, and without it, the war would not be worth fighting... Growing up with the land, one learns how everything is related. We look forward to the seasons and know what is coming into harvest or blooming, and we know and appreciate the beauty of the land."
"When I think of love, I think about the land. Cheyenne land is so strong, it strengthens us... Families have certain areas that are very special to them, where the spirits reside. They will take care of us and we will take care of them."
Gail Small: "Is our homeland going to be one big dump or a place we can live?" Photo by Mike Bichnell
Gail Small consideres her spirituality as one with her identity. She said she never had a choice in her law practice. She knew she would fight for her land. She served on her tribal council until motherhood called her away. She says supporting the children and family will help restore the balance. Northern Cheyenne involve the whole extended family in child rearing. She says it is important that they have a home to renew their strength and feel safe. The best thing she can giver her daughters is a sense of who they are and where they come from.
"...our identity as Indian women is very grounded in the land..."
Gail Small in Antarctica Photographer unknown
"A long time ago, there was a clear understanding of the responsibilities between men and women. Men and women knew they needed each other’s help to get things done. There was give and take in the relationships. Even in ceremonial life, the Sun Dance cannot go on without the women, though they do not actually do the Sun Dance."
Wilma Mankiller, Author, Activist,
Former Principle Chief, Cherokee Nation
"Spirituality is not exclusive, and I don’t have a label for it. I feel comfortable going to any place where people go to play. Where people are meditating, where they are going inside themselves to be quiet for a while and listen to life, or where they are being together to comfor one another in a sacred way."
Wilma’s tribe invited the Catholic Priests to their communities in the Mid- 1800s because their hunting grounds were being invaded by tribes being pushed there by the Suyapi (white Europeans), When her Aunt Ida was on her last journey, she called for the Priest and the medicine person to give her last rites and attend her bedside.
"Our people were seeking additional protective power--double indemnity insurance... it might be helpful to have and eagle feather in one hand and a Bible in the other. It can’t hurt."
"Each time...a Cherokee woman straps on terrapin shells and steps out onto the circle to dance. it is practically a revolutionary act, a miracle, a living testament to the enduring spiritual strength of the people... They each deal with a set of social and economical problems in their communities, nut they hold the poeple close to their hearts, praying, working, and drawing on their spiritual beliefs for sustenance and support. None of the women try to endlessly analyze or dissect spirituality. They express it through the way they live their lives. There is no separation between the secular and the sacred. Everything in life is sacred."
"Traditional indigenous knowledge systems and stories acknowledge that the rivers, rocks, trees, plant life, and celestial world are alive with spirit and meaning. When traditional indigenous people speak of their relatives, they are referring to every living thing, not just human kinship. The very identity of traditional tribal people is derived from the natural world, the land, and the community. They understand their own insignificance in the totality of things."
-Wilma Mankiller
Cherokee, Activist, Author, Mother
Wilma Mankiller served 10 years as the Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She has recieved 18 honorary doctorates from Yale, Dartmouth and Smith among other universities. She has recieved many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has lived most of her life on the Mankiller family allotment in Oklahoma in the rural Mankiller Flats community of Adair County.
"There is a profound spiritual dimension to our natural environment, and without it, the war would not be worth fighting... We look forward to the seasons and know what is coming into harvest or blooming, and we know and appreciate the beauty of the land."
-Gail Small
Northern Cheyenne Nation, Head Chief Woman, Attorney, Activist, Mother
Gail Small directs Native Action, one of the oldest and most successful reservation-based nonprofit organizations. She has spent most of her adult life defending her homelands legally and politically against environmentally hazardous energy companies. She served on various boards and committies and as a counsilwoman on the Norther Cheyenne Tribal Counsil. She helped secure a high school on the reservation, organize a Rock the Vote concert, and has helped with several leadership programs for children and youth.