Barbie doll honoring Native American activist Wilma Mankiller met with controversy
The Native American activist, who died in 2010, has a Barbie doll made in her honor - but not everyone is responding positively.
A new Barbie doll honoring Cherokee chief Wilma Mankiller has been met with controversy, as both sides of the debate share passionate arguments about whether it should exist.
Mattel announced that the doll — which is part of the toymaker's "Inspiring Women" series — will hit the shelves this coming week, and some leaders are happy about it.
“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,” Principal Chief Chuk Hoskin, the current Cherokee chief, said in a statement. “Wilma Mankiller is a champion for the Cherokee Nation, for Indian Country, and even my own daughter.”
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Mankiller, who led her Native American tribe until 1995 and died in 2010, is just the latest woman to be honored with her own Barbie doll.
"We’re proud to honour principal chief Wilma Mankiller as our newest Barbie Inspiring Women doll, lifting up courageous women who paved the way for generations to dream big and believe that," Mattel said in the same statement.
"In celebration of Wilma’s powerful legacy, Barbie will donate to the American Indian Resource Center, supporting initiatives to empower indigenous women and girls, and preserving culture and traditions within Native American communities."
But not everyone is happy about the new honor.
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“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.
The Cherokee language symbols on the packaging also are wrong, she noted. Two symbols look similar, and the one used translates to “Chicken,” rather than “Cherokee.”
Still, Mattel says that they worked with Mankiller's family directly to create the doll in her likeness.
The Cherokee nation, however, says they didn't contribute to the doll.
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