Wilma Mankiller, a Cherokee Indian, was very accurate with her speech that the American people are very unfamiliar with the Indian history, culture, and beliefs. The interesting point was that the women in most tribes are the leaders in the tribal government, like her. The land base of a tribal nation can range from having a million acres of land, to those tribes that control only twenty-five acres with less than one hundred members. Some tribal governments continue original tribal traditions, where some tribes have changed by recently added constitutions. The treaties granted under the law were recognized in the early time in history. These treaties are rarely recognized today by the U. S. Government. She went on to say anti-sovereignty groups believe that the Native Americans should not receive special rights or be considered sovereign. Wilma Mankiller explained that tribal people gave up billions of acres of land for and sacrificed their lives to be a sovereign nation.  Americans have learn very few things about the native culture, however the native people must learn the culture of the Americans.  She believes that the most important practice is for the native people to learn their entire culture and identity, the entire system of knowledge, not just the native language.  As the tribe elders die, they lose their culture history. One of Wilma Mankiller’s favorite proverbs is, “It’s hard to see the future with tears in your eyes”. She also went on to explain that we should honor the past, but we cannot go around with anger in our hearts over the present and future. We must work together to make a better future.