Ex-Cherokee Chief to Address Women

The deadline to register for the 20th annual “Creative Options: A Day for Women” at Cal Lutheran University has been extended until the day of the event, organizers announced.

Wilma Mankiller, former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, will be keynote speaker for the March 6 event, which will also feature more than 70 workshops.

Mankiller was elected as the first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in a historic tribal election in July 1987. She was reelected in 1991 with nearly 83% of the vote.

During Mankiller’s tenure as principal chief, the annual budget of the tribe doubled and tribal membership increased dramatically. She left office in 1995 and was coauthor of the book “Mankiller: A Chief and Her People.” Over the years she has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

The event will be presented by the Thousand Oaks branch of the American Assn. of University Women and the Women’s Resource Center at CLU. The event provides an educational experience for women, and the workshops range from issue-oriented and self-help topics to academic, political, spiritual, environmental and health-related subjects.

All proceeds from the event go to the Creative Options Endowed Scholarship Fund for Reentry Women.