Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

ITHACA, N.Y. - On Friday, November 30th, the American Indian Program at Cornell University will honor Wilma Mankiller, Former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and Tom Porter, Spokesman and Chief Spiritual Leader of the Mohawk community of Kanatsiohareke in Fonda, New York. The honoring will recognize and celebrate their decades of work with Native communities. Several prominent Native scholars are scheduled to speak about Mankiller's and Porter's work, including John Mohawk, Katsi Cook, Dagmar Thorpe and Debra La Fountaine. The event is free and open to the public and will be held at Kennedy Hall's David Call Auditorium at 7:30pm.

Wilma Mankiller served as the first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1985 to 1995. Mankiller also served as the founding director of the Cherokee Nation Community Development Department, which received several national awards for innovative use of self-help for building housing and water systems in impoverished communities. She also co-authored Mankiller: A Chief and Her People in 1993 and was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Tom Porter has been a nationally recognized figure in Indian Country since the 1960's when he co-founded the "White Roots of Peace." Comprised of Iroquois Elders, the group toured the country sharing traditional teachings and encouraging Natives to embrace their respective traditions. Porter is also well-known as an inspirational speaker on the destructive effects of substance abuse on Indian families, communities and nations.

The honoring is part of a forum that will examine the trends and challenges facing Native communities in the 21st century. The forum, "American Indian Millennium: Renewing Our Ways of Life for Future Generations," will take place on November 29 to December 2 at Cornell University's Statler Hotel.

The forum is being hosted by Cornell's Akwe:kon Press/Native Americas Journal, LifeWay, a project of Tides Center, and Indian Country Today. The forum is being supported by contributions from W.K. Kellogg Foundation, First Nations Development Institute Opportunity Fund, the Ettinger Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, French American Charitable Trust, and Joshua Mailman.

There will be a video-feed of the forum on the Native Americas website following the event Please refer to the website for more information.