Visionaries

February 18, 2006

This seminar will feature videos of LaDonna Harris (Comanche), Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee), Oren Lyons (Onondaga/Iroquois), and Anthony Pico (Viejas Band of Kumeyaay).

LaDonna Harris first learned her political skills as the wife of Senator Fred Harris of Oklahoma. She then went on to found Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity and later, Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO). She has been an advocate for civil rights, including those of women and children, for decades. Her commitment today is the forming of new Indian leaders through the Ambassadors Program of AIO.

Wilma Mankiller, former Principal Chief of the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation, was the first woman to head her tribe. She honed her community organizing skills in Oakland after her family was “relocated” to California from Oklahoma. Returning later to her Cherokee roots, she used these skills and many others to achieve the highest office in the Cherokee Nation.

Oren Lyons, traditional Chief of the Onondaga Nation, New York is a crisis negotiator, professor, author and painter. He is an avid promoter of the Iroquois game of lacrosse, and an educator on the international level about the environmental perils upon which human beings of the present time need to act.

Anthony Pico led his Southern California tribe from abject poverty to prosperity, initially through gaming, and now through a variety of economic projects. He is an ardent spokesman for the sovereignty and rights of Indian Nations. He also notes the special accord and status his tribe gives women.

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