My name is Mankiller, and in the old Cherokee Nation, when we lived here in the Southeast, we lived in semi-autonomous villages, and there was someone who watched over the village, who had the title of mankiller. And I'm not sure what you could equate that to, but it was sort of like a soldier or someone who was responsible for the security of the village, and so anyway this one fellow liked the title mankiller so well that he kept it as his name, and that's who we trace our ancestry back to.
Interpretation
The quote discusses the significance of the title 'Mankiller' in Cherokee culture, emphasizing its association with leadership and protection.
In this quote, Wilma Mankiller reflects on the historical and cultural significance of the title 'Mankiller' within the Cherokee Nation. This title represented someone who was responsible for the safety and security of the village, akin to a soldier. The narrative illustrates how names and titles can carry deep ancestral and cultural weight, ultimately tying identity to leadership within the community.
In practice
During a leadership seminar, I shared this quote to highlight the importance of cultural identity in modern leadership.
It's like everybody's sitting there and they have some kind of veil over their face, and they look at each other through this veil that makes them see each other through some stereotypical kind of viewpoint. If we're ever gonna collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we're gonna have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level.
Women in leadership roles can help restore balance and wholeness to our communities.
Growth is a painful process._x000D_ If we’re ever going to collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we’re going to have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level.
I want to be remembered as the person who helped us restore faith in ourselves.
Everybody is sitting around saying, 'Well, jeez, we need somebody to solve this problem of bias.' That somebody is us. We all have to try to figure out a better way to get along.
One of the things my parents taught me, and I'll always be grateful as a gift, is to not ever let anybody else define me; that for me to define myself. and I think that helped me a lot in assuming a leadership position.
Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs _x000D_ _x000D_ of those who would be affected by it
One is too small a number to achieve greatness. No accomplishment of real value has ever been achieved by a human being working alone.
Leadership is standing with your people. People say you have to live to fight another day, but sometimes you have to show you are a true leader.
The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important - and then get out of their way while they do it.
Alleviating suffering of the most marginalized communities must begin with assessing the needs of entire communities and allowing the most marginalized to lead the strategy. My belief is those closest to the pain are closest to the solution.
If you look for the best in your employees, they'll flourish. If you criticize or look for the worst, they'll shrivel up. We all need lots of watering.
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