Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. attended a meet-and-greet at the Bartlesville Public Library's Meeting Room A on Monday night.

A documentary titled “Mankiller: Activist. Feminist. Cherokee Chief.” played after Chief Hoskin's remarks, which is based upon Wilma Mankiller's life story, from when she was active in San Fransico's civil rights movement to her return to Oklahoma to become the first woman to be elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Chief Hoskin said there is a standard to which all Cherokee's aspire to be, and there is this idea as to what Principal Chief ought to be to which they all want to achieve.

That standard, that person, that icon is Wilma Mankiller.

Chief Hoskin said even as a young adult, Mankiller was helping occupy Alcatraz in California, she was putting in water lines in a small town called Bell in Oklahoma's Adair County, and she brought communities together. He said Mankiller reminded the Cherokee people - and the world - that Cherokee's could do great things, that they ought to work together, and that they should not set back and let people control their destiny.

The Cherokee Nation Tribal Youth Council's interns are always told about the difference and the impact they can make on Oklahoma and the world because of what Mankiller was able to accomplish in her life.Chief Hoskin said one of the most important things to remember is that so much of what the Cherokee Nation does today, whether it is the ability to run programs themselves or gaming, is dependent on the Principal Chief's remembrance of the Cherokee Nation's history. He said if a chief does not remember the tribe's history, he or she may take things for granted and accept things for how they are.

Wilma Mankiller had a vision for the Cherokee people to take control of their destiny. Chief Hoskin said he stands on the shoulders of giants, and Makiller is one of those giants.

Gaming was mentioned during Chief Hoskin's address to the approximately 50 people in attendance for the documentary focused on Mankiller's life on Monday night at the Bartlesville Public Library. Chief Hoskin said gaming is commonplace in the State of Oklahoma today. He said gaming is an industry that generates billions of dollars in economic activity in Oklahoma.

The Cherokee Nation alone has a $2.16-billion impact on the region thanks to the gaming and other operations. Chief Hoskin said gaming creates jobs, it creates infrastructure improvements so there is more economic development, and it creates industry. He said gaming is ever present and it help create strong relationships that build a stronger Oklahoma.

But when Wilma Mankiller was the Cherokee Nation's Principal Chief, gaming was still in question. Chief Hoskin said Mankiller led a movement across the nation for all tribes to reclaim their destinations. He said the tribes were given a right from the Creator to self-identify and govern themselves so they could preserve that right for generations to come, which is what Mankiller did best.

To listen to Chief Hoskin Jr.'s full speech, click here.