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WASHINGTON – A woman who many say did as much for Native Americans as anyone this century received the nation’s highest civilian honor Thursday afternoon at the White House.

Wilma Mankiller sat down with 2NEWS senior correspondent Mike Browning before leaving for Washington.

Wilma Mankiller, former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, said that receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “proof that dreams can come true.” Mankiller served the tribe as its elected leader for ten years before having to step down because of health problems.

[Photo: Wilma Mankiller receives
her medal -- and a hug -- from
President Clinton.]

In that time, the Cherokee rolls increased by some 200 percent, as did public awareness of Native American issues, especially concerning health and education.

She was the first elected female chief of a major tribe, but long before she became known nationally, Mankiller was a political activist who always kept her goals in focus.

Still, she never dreamed just how far her activism would take her; she said Thursday that “Never in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined as a child, or as a young woman or even as an activist being able to be in the White House, much less receive an award from the president of the United States.”

Clinton scheduled the ceremony in which he awarded Mankiller and 14 others with the Medal of Freedom on what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.’s 69th birthday.

The president said that “All of our honorees have helped America to widen the circle of democracy by fighting for civil rights, by righting social wrongs, by extending peace around the world.”

Other honorees included James Farmer, who staged a sit-in at a coffee shop in Chicago before such events became a national phenomenon, and Justin Dart Jr., whose four decades of advocacy for the disabled led to the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. [Photo: Mankiller's interview
with Mike Browning.]

Before she left for Washington, Mankiller granted an exclusive interview to 2NEWS senior correspondent Mike Browning.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is this nation’s highest civilian honor, reserved for only a few Americans whose contributions to their communities or their country are considered exceptional.

Mankiller, 52, served as the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation for ten years – from 1985 to 1995 – before stepping down due to health concerns just over two years ago.

She was the first chief to be elected by the Cherokee people under their own constitution; prior to her term in office, Cherokee chiefs were appointed by the U.S. government.

During her time in office, the tribe opened three rural health care facilities, started a program to combat drug abuse, and expanded its Head Start program. Ironically, it was her own health problems that cut Mankiller’s fast-moving career short.

[Photo: Mankiller-Medal]

A 1979 car accident required her to undergo nearly 20 surgeries over the years, and in 1990 she underwent a kidney transplant. She was diagnosed with colon cancer and lymphoma in 1996, and had to undergo chemotherapy.

Still, during the recent troubles in the Cherokee Nation, she made several trips to Tahlequah in an attempt to help resolve the difficulties.

Mankiller told the AP last week that “the Medal of Freedom will be accepted on behalf of all Native American people, particularly women, many of whom are much more deserving of this honor than I.”