Wilma Pearl Mankiller’s great-grandfather had survived the deadly forced westward march of Native Americans known as the “Trail of Tears.” She rose to lead the Cherokee Nation more than 150 years later as principal chief, the first elected female chief of a Native nation in modern times. Throughout her reign from 1985-1995, cut short only by her own severe health challenges, she advocated for extensive community development, self-help, and education and healthcare programs that revitalized the Nation of 300,000 citizens. Wilma Mankiller will continue to shine as an inspirational example of the faith in her belief that ethnicity should never be forgotten--nor come before family unity, society, and country.

Born and raised in Chicago, D. J. Herda worked for years at The Chicago Tribune, as well as at numerous other Chicago-area newspapers and magazines, before becoming an internationally syndicated columnist. During its decade-long run, Herda's column, "In Focus," appeared in more than 1,100 newspapers with a combined circulation of nearly 20 million readers. As a syndicated photo and travel columnist, he developed strong ties to the editorial department of every major newspaper in North America, from The Washington Post to the Los Angeles Times, and sends out interviews, backgrounders, review copies, etc., for both himself and for the client authors he represents as an editor/ghostwriter/book doctor. Herda’s interest in Western Americana goes back to his childhood. He has published on the subjects of Calamity Jane, Doc Holliday, Frank and Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, Wyatt Earp, and other Western legends. He has written “Forts of the American West” and other articles for American West, Arizona Highways, and other magazines. D. J. Herda has lived in the Rocky Mountains of the southwestern United States for nearly three decades.