Overview:
A friendship built on laughter, shared convictions and a commitment to women’s rights and tribal sovereignty
Gloria Steinem, a leading feminist and journalist who started Ms. magazine, “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by the many who loved her” on Wednesday, according to a post on her official Instagram page. She was 92.
In 1973, Steinem co-founded the Ms. Foundation for Women. She invited Wilma Mankiller, 12 years before she became the first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, to serve on its board. The two iconic figures became close friends.
When Mankiller was stricken with stage-four pancreatic cancer, Steinem flew to Oklahoma to be with Mankiller until she walked on in April 2010.
On Thursday, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. remembered the friendship Steinem and Mankiller shared.
“Gloria Steinem’s passing brings us sadness at the Cherokee Nation. She was such a powerful and effective leader for equality for women and she was a dear friend of former Chief Wilma Mankiller,” Hoskin said. “May she rest in peace.”
The two often traveled together to university campuses. Aaron Payment, former chairperson and current tribal councilor of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, remembers spending time with both Steinem and Mankiller. He recalled to Native News Online that when he was working at Michigan State University, Mankiller called him and told him she was in Lansing. They agreed to meet for dinner, and she brought Steinem with her.
“Wilma had a very serious side to her. The stoic side. But, when Wilma and Gloria were together, Gloria had a way to break through that serious side and they had great times laughing together,” Payment said.
“One of the things that Native American culture understands and we probably don’t is that laughter is the only emotion you can’t compel,” Steinem told The New York Times in 2020. “You can’t make anybody laugh unless they want to. I suspect that the people who last the longest, who continue to be trustworthy, are people with a sense of humor.”
For Nedra Darling, the public affairs director for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, spending time with both Mankiller and Steinem was always a treat. She recalled going with Mankiller to Steinem’s New York City home.
“I am very sad. I planned to get together with her while I am in New York City later in the month,” Darling said.
Steinem saw the parallels between the fight for women’s rights and defending tribal sovereignty.
Four years ago, Steinem attended the U.S. Mint’s unveiling ceremony of the Wilma Mankiller quarter in the Cherokee Nation on June 9, 2022. Steinem spoke about Mankiller’s advocacy for women’s rights. She reminded the crowd of Mankiller’s stance on a woman’s right to decide what is best for her own body.
“She believed not only in tribal sovereignty, but in women’s reproductive sovereignty … I believe, and I think we all know that Wilma would once again, be on the side of reproductive freedom,” Steinem said.
The commonality of laughter helped forge a lasting friendship between Steinem and Mankiller.
