Is Cherokee Barbie a respectful tribute to Wilma Mankiller, or a misguided portrayal?

An iconic chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, inspired countless Native American children as a powerful but humble leader who expanded early education and rural healthcare. Her reach is now broadening with a quintessential American honor: a Barbie doll in Ms. Mankiller’s likeness as part of toymaker Mattel’s “Inspiring Women” series. A public ceremony for Ms. Mankiller, who died in 2010, occurred Dec. 4 in Tahlequah in northeast Oklahoma, where the Cherokee Nation is headquartered. Ms. Mankiller was the nation’s first female principal chief, leading the tribe for a decade until 1995. She focused on improving social conditions through consensus and on restoring pride in Native heritage, met with three United States presidents, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. She also met snide remarks about her surname – a military title – with humor, often delivering a straight-faced response: “Mankiller is actually a well-earned nickname.” The tribe’s current leader, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., applauded Mattel for commemorating Ms. Mankiller. “When Native girls see it, they can achieve it, and Wilma Mankiller has shown countless young women to be fearless and speak up for Indigenous and human rights,” Mr. Hoskin said in a statement. “Wilma Mankiller is a champion for the Cherokee Nation, for Indian Country, and even my own daughter.” Ms. Mankiller, whose likeness is on a U.S. quarter issued in 2021, is the second Native American woman honored with a Barbie doll. Famed aviator Bessie Coleman, who was of Black and Cherokee ancestry, was depicted earlier this year. Other dolls in the series include Maya Angelou, Ida B. Wells, Jane Goodall, and Madam C.J. Walker. The rollout of the Barbie doll featuring Ms. Mankiller wearing a ribbon skirt, black shoes, and carrying a woven basket has been met with conflicting reactions. Many say the doll is a fitting tribute for a remarkable leader who faced conflict head-on and helped the tribe triple its enrollment, double its employment, and build new health centers and children’s programs. Still, some Cherokee women are critical, saying Mattel overlooked problematic details on the doll and the packaging. “Mixed emotions shared by me and many other Cherokee women who have now purchased the product revolve around whether a Wilma Barbie captures her legacy, her physical features and the importance of centering Cherokee women in decision making,” Stacy Leeds, the law school dean at Arizona State University and a former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice, told The Associated Press in an email. Regina Thompson, a Cherokee basket weaver who grew up near Tahlequah, doesn’t think the doll looks like Ms. Mankiller. Mattel should have considered traditional pucker toe moccasins, instead of black shoes, and included symbols on the basket that Cherokees use to tell a story, she said. “Wilma’s name is the only thing Cherokee on that box,” Ms. » …
Read More