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Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Pearl Mankiller (ᎠᏥᎳᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ; November 18, 1945 –April 6, 2010) was a Native American activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, she lived on her family's allotment in Adair County, Oklahoma, until the age of 11, when her family relocated to San Francisco as part of a federal government program to urbanize Indigenous Americans. After high school, she married a well-to-do Ecuadorian and raised two daughters. Inspired by the social and political movements of the 1960s, Mankiller became involved in the Occupation of Alcatraz and later participated in the land and compensation struggles with the Pit River Tribe. For five years in the early 1970s, she was employed as a social worker, focusing mainly on children's issues.

When Mankiller returned to Oklahoma in 1976, the Cherokee Nation hired her as an economic stimulus coordinator. With her expertise at preparing documentation, she became a successful grant writer, and by the early 1980s was directing the newly created Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation. As Director she designed and supervised innovative community projects allowing rural citizens to identify their own challenges and, through their labor, participate in solving them. Her project in Bell, Oklahoma, was featured in the movie The Cherokee Word for Water, directed by Charlie Soap and Tim Kelly. In 2015, the movie was selected as the top American Indian film of the past 40 years by the American Indian Film Institute. Her project in Kenwood received the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Certificate of National Merit.

Her management ability came to the notice of the incumbent Principal Chief, Ross Swimmer, who invited her to run as his deputy in the 1983 tribal elections. When the duo won, she became the first elected woman to serve as Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She was elevated to Principal Chief when Swimmer took a position in the federal administration of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, serving until 1995. During her administration, the Cherokee government built new health clinics, created a mobile eye-care clinic, established ambulance services, and created early education, adult education and job training programs. She developed revenue streams, including factories, retail stores, restaurants and bingo operations, while establishing self-governance, allowing the tribe to manage its own finances.

Mankiller returned to her activist role as an advocate working to improve the image of Native Americans and combat the misappropriation of native heritage, by authoring books including a bestselling autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People, and giving numerous lectures on health care, tribal sovereignty, women's rights and cancer awareness after retiring from politics. Throughout her life, she had serious health problems, including polycystic kidney disease, myasthenia gravis, lymphoma and breast cancer, and needed two kidney transplants. She died in 2010 from pancreatic cancer, and was honored with many local, state and national awards, including the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 2021 it was announced that Mankiller's likeness would appear on the quarter-dollar coin as a part of the United States Mint's "American Women Quarters" program.

Early life (1945–1955)
Wilma Pearl Mankiller was born on November 18, 1945, in the Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to Clara Irene (née Sitton) and Charley Mankiller. Her father was a full-blooded Cherokee, whose ancestors had been forced to relocate to Indian Territory from Tennessee over the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. Her mother descended from Dutch-Irish and English immigrants who had first settled in Virginia and North Carolina in the 1700s. Her maternal grandparents came to Oklahoma in the early 1900s from Georgia and Arkansas, respectively. The surname "Mankiller", Asgaya-dihi (Cherokee syllabary: ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ) in the Cherokee language, refers to a traditional Cherokee military rank, similar to a captain or major, or a shaman with the ability to avenge wrongs through spiritual methods. Alternative spellings are Outacity and Ontassetè. Wilma's given Cherokee name, meaning flower, was A-ji-luhsgi. When Charley and Irene married in 1937, they settled on Charley's father, John Mankiller's allotment, known as "Mankiller Flats", near Rocky Mountain in Adair County, Oklahoma, which he had received in 1907 as part of the government policy of forced assimilation for Native American people. Wilma had five older siblings: Louis Donald "Don", Frieda Marie, Robert Charles, Frances Kay and John David. In 1948, when she was three, the family moved into a house built by her father, her uncle and her brother, Don, on the allotment of her grandfather John. Her five other siblings, Linda Jean, Richard Colson, Vanessa Lou, James Ray and William Edward, were born over the next 12 years. The small house had no electricity or plumbing and they lived in "extreme poverty". The family hunted and fished, maintaining a vegetable garden to feed themselves. They also grew peanuts and strawberries, which they sold. Mankiller went to school through the fifth grade in a three-room schoolhouse, in Rocky Mountain. The family spoke both English and Cherokee at home; even Mankiller's mother spoke Cherokee. Her mother canned food and used flour sacks to make clothes for the children, whom she immersed in Cherokee heritage. Though they joined the Baptist church, the children were wary of white congregants and customs, preferring to attend tribal ceremonial gatherings. Family elders taught the children traditional stories.

Relocation to San Francisco (1956–1976)
In 1955, a severe drought made it more difficult for the family to provide for itself. As a part of the Indian termination policy, the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 provided assistance to relocate Native families to urban areas. Agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs promised better jobs and living conditions for families that agreed to move. In 1956, when she was 11, her father Charley was denied a loan from the BIA, and decided that moving to a city where he would have a regular income and a steady job would be good for his family. The family chose California because Irene's mother lived in Riverbank. Selling their belongings, they took a train from Stilwell, Oklahoma, to San Francisco. Though they were promised an apartment in the city, there were no apartments available when the Mankillers arrived. They were housed in a squalid hotel in the Tenderloin District for several weeks. Even when the family moved to Potrero Hill, where both her father and brother Don found work, the family struggled financially. They had few Native American neighbors, creating alienation from their tribal identities. Mankiller and her siblings enrolled in school, but it was difficult as the other students made fun of her surname and teased her about her clothes and the way she spoke. Mankiller withdrew from school due to her classmates' treatment. Within a year, the family had saved money and were able to move to Daly City, but Mankiller still felt alienated and ran away from home, going to her grandmother's farm in Riverbank. Wilma continued to run away despite her grandmother made her return to Potrero so her parents decided to let her live on the farm for a year. By the time she returned, the family had moved again and were living in Hunters Point, a neighborhood riddled with crime, drugs and gangs. Though she had regained her confidence during her year away, Mankiller still felt isolated and began to become involved in the activities of the San Francisco Indian Center. She remained indifferent to school, where she struggled with math and science, but graduated from high school in June 1963. As soon as she finished school, Mankiller found a clerical job in a finance company and moved in with her sister Frances. That summer, at a Latin dance, she met Hector Hugo Olaya de Bardi, an Ecuadorian college student from a well-to-do family, and the two began dating. Mankiller found him sophisticated, and despite her parents' discomfort with the union, the two married in Reno, Nevada, on November 13, 1963, and then honeymooned in Chicago. Returning to California, they moved into an apartment in the Mission District, where 10 months later their daughter Felicia was born. They then moved to a house in a nearby neighborhood and in 1966 had a second daughter, Gina. While Olaya continued with his schooling at San Francisco State University and worked for Pan American Airlines, Mankiller was busy raising their daughters. Olaya saw his role as the family's provider, leaving his wife at home to bring up the children. But Mankiller was restless and returned to school, enrolling in classes at Skyline Junior College. For the first time, she enjoyed school and took only courses that interested her.

Activism

In 1964, a small group of Red Power activists occupied Alcatraz Island for a few hours. In the late 1960s, a group of students from the University of California at Berkeley, Los Angeles and Santa Cruz, along with students at San Francisco State, began protesting against the Vietnam War and in favor of civil rights for ethnic minorities and women. Among the groups that sprang up in the period was the American Indian Movement (AIM), which in San Francisco was centered around the activities at the San Francisco Indian Center. Also meeting there was the United Bay Indian Council, which operated as an umbrella organization for 30 separate groups representing people of different tribal affiliations. In October 1969, the Center burned, and the loss of their meeting place created a bond between administrators and student activists, who combined their efforts to bring the plight of urban Native Americans to the public eye with the reoccupation of Alcatraz. The occupation inspired Mankiller to become involved in civil rights activism. Prior to the November takeover of the island, she had not been involved in either AIM or the United Bay Council. She began to meet with other Native Americans who had participated in the Indian Center, becoming active in the groups supporting the Occupation. While she did visit Alcatraz, most of her work focused on fundraising and support, gathering supplies of blankets, food and water for those on the island. Soon after the Occupation began, Charley Mankiller was diagnosed with kidney disease, which caused Mankiller to discover that she shared polycystic kidney disease with her father. In between her activism, school and family obligations, she spent as much time with him as she was able. The Occupation lasted 19 months, and during that time, Mankiller learned organizational skills and how to do paralegal research. She had been encouraged by other activists to continue her studies, and began planning a career.

Social work
On her father's death in 1971, the Mankiller family returned to Oklahoma for his burial. When she returned to California, she transferred to San Francisco State University in 1972 and began to focus her classes on social welfare. Against her husband's wishes, she bought her own car and began to seek independence, taking her daughters to Native American events along the West Coast. On her travels, she met members of the Pit River Tribe in Northern California, near Burney, and joined their campaign for compensation with the Indian Claims Commission and Pacific Gas and Electric Company for lands illegally taken from the tribe during the California Gold Rush. Over the next five years, she assisted the tribe in raising funds for its legal defense and helped prepare documentation for their claim, gaining experience in international and treaty law. Closer to home, Mankiller founded East Oakland's Native American Youth Center, where she served as director. Locating a building, she called for volunteers to paint and help draft educational programs to help youth learn about their heritage, enjoying overwhelming support from the community. In 1974, Mankiller and Olaya divorced and she moved with her two daughters to Oakland. Taking a position as a social worker with the Urban Indian Resource Center, she worked on programs conducting research on child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption of Native children. Recognizing that most indigenous children were placed with families with no knowledge of Native traditions, she worked on legislation with other staff and attorneys to prevent children from being removed from their culture. The law, which eventually passed as the Indian Child Welfare Act, made it illegal to place Native children in non-Native families.

Community development (1976–1983)
In 1976, Mankiller's mother returned to Oklahoma, prompting Mankiller to move as well with her two daughters. Initially, she was unable to find work and moved back to California for six months. By the fall, she was back in Oklahoma, and built a small house near her mother's in Mankiller Flats. After doing volunteer work for the Cherokee Nation, Mankiller was hired in 1977 to work on a program for young Cherokees to study environmental science. That same year she enrolled in additional classes at Flaming Rainbow University in Stilwell, Oklahoma, completing her Bachelor of Science degree in social sciences with an emphasis on Indian Affairs, thanks to a correspondence course under a program offered by the Union for Experimental Colleges in Washington, D.C. She enrolled in graduate courses in community development at the University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville, while continuing to work in the tribal offices as an economic stimulus coordinator. She worked on home health care, the Indian child welfare protocols, language services, a senior citizens program and a youth shelter. On November 9, 1979, on her way back to Tahlequah from Fayetteville, Mankiller's vehicle was struck by an oncoming car. Sherry Morris, one of Mankiller's closest friends, was driving the other vehicle and died in the crash. Mankiller suffered broken ribs as well as breaks in her left leg and ankle, and both her face and right leg were crushed. Initially doctors thought that she would not regain the ability to walk. After 17 operations and plastic surgery to reconstruct her face, she was released from the hospital able to walk with crutches. While still in recovery from the accident, three months after the collision, Mankiller began to notice a loss of muscle coordination. She dropped things, was unable to grip items, her voice tired after a few moments of speaking. Doctors thought that the problems were related to the accident, but one day while watching a muscular dystrophy telethon, Mankiller thought her symptoms sounded similar. She called the muscular dystrophy center, was referred to a specialist, and was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. In November 1980, she returned to the hospital, underwent more surgeries and began a course of chemotherapy, which lasted several years. She went back to work in December.

She later said the car crash and its aftermath were life-changing, leading her to accept what she called "a Cherokee approach to life." In a 1993 interview on NPR, she said: "I think the Cherokee approach to life is being able to continually move forward with kind of a good mind and not focus on the negative things in your life and the negative things you see around you, but focus on the positive things and try to look at the larger picture and keep moving forward..[It] also taught me to look at the larger things in life rather than focusing on small things, and it's also awfully, awfully hard to rattle me after having faced my own mortality ... so the things I learned from those experiences actually enabled me to lead. Without those experiences, I don't think I would have been able to lead. I think I would have gotten caught up in a lot of nonsensical things." Mankiller's first community development program as a grant writer was for Bell, Oklahoma. By requiring community members to donate their time and labor to lay 16 miles of pipe for a shared water system, build houses, or work on building rehabilitation, the grant involved the community in self-improvement. Working on the Bell project, Mankiller collaborated with Charlie Soap, who worked in the Indian Housing Authority and helped her supervise the venture. The success of the program led to its use as a model for other grant programs for her own and other tribes. In the midst of the Bell Project, in 1981, tribal chief Ross Swimmer promoted her as first director of a department she devised, the Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation. Over the next three years, Mankiller raised millions of dollars for similar community development programs. Her approach was one of self-help, which allowed citizens to identify their problems and gain control of the challenges they faced. Impressed by her skill and results, Swimmer asked her to be his running mate for the next tribal election.

Deputy Chief (1983–1985)
In 1983, Mankiller, a Democrat, was selected as a running mate by Ross Swimmer, a Republican, in a bid for Swimmer's third consecutive term as principal chief. Though they both wanted the tribe to become more self-sufficient, Swimmer felt the path was through developing tribal businesses, like hotels and agricultural enterprises. Mankiller wanted to focus on small rural communities, improving housing and health care. Their differences on policy were not a key problem in the election, but Mankiller's gender was. She was surprised by the sexism she faced, as in traditional Cherokee society, families and clans were organized matrilineally. Though traditionally women had not held titled positions in Cherokee government, they had a women's council which wielded considerable influence, and were responsible for training the tribal chief. She received death threats, her tires were slashed, and a billboard with her likeness was burned. Swimmer nevertheless remained steadfast. Swimmer won reelection against Perry Wheeler by a narrow margin, on the strength of absentee voters. Mankiller also won by absentee voters in a run-off election for the deputy chief post against Agnes Cowen and became the first woman elected deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation. Wheeler and Cowen demanded a recount and filed a suit with the Cherokee Judicial Appeals Tribunal and U. S. District Court alleging voting irregularities. Both tribal and federal courts ruled against Wheeler and Cowen.

One of her main duties as deputy chief was to preside over the Tribal Council, the fifteen-member governing body for the Cherokee Nation. Though she assumed that the sexism of the campaign would end once the election was resolved, Mankiller quickly realized that she had little support in the council. Some members viewed her as a political enemy, while others discounted her because of her gender. She chose to avoid involvement in tribal legislation to minimize the hostility to her election, instead concentrating on areas of government that the council did not control. One of her first focus issues was on the full-blood/mixed-blood divide. Cherokees with non-Native ancestry had assimilated into American culture to a greater extent, while full-bloods maintained Cherokee language and culture. The two groups historically had been at odds, with much disagreement on development. By the time Mankiller was elected deputy, the mixed-blood faction focused on economic growth and favored non-Natives being hired to run Native businesses if they were more qualified. Full-bloods believed that such modernization would compromise Cherokee identity. Mankiller, who supported a middle-of-the-road approach, expanded the Cherokee Heritage Center and the Institute for Cherokee Literacy. She persuaded the tribal council to change the way that council members were elected so that rather than at-large candidates, potential members came from newly created districts. The change meant that urban areas with large populations no longer controlled the council membership.

Principal Chief, partial term (1985–1986)
In 1985, Chief Swimmer resigned when appointed assistant secretary of the US Bureau of Indian Affairs. Mankiller succeeded him as the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, when she was sworn into office on December 5, 1985. To appease her detractors on the council, she did not attend council meetings, and stressed the separation between the executive and legislative branches of the government. Almost immediately, the press coverage on Mankiller made her an international celebrity and improved the perception of Native Americans throughout the country. In articles such as a November 1985 interview in People, Mankiller strove to show that Native cultural traditions of cooperation and respect for the environment made them role models for the rest of society. In an interview with Ms., she pointed out that Cherokee women had been valued members of their communities before mainstream society imposed patriarchy upon the tribe. In presenting her critiques of Reagan administration policies that might diminish tribal self-determination or threaten their culture, she built relationships with various power brokers. Because she lacked favor with the Tribal Council, she also used her access with the press to educate Cherokee voters on the goals of her administration and her desire to improve housing and health services. Within five months of becoming chief, Mankiller's celebrity status resulted in her election that year as American Indian Woman of the Year, an honor bestowed by the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women, and her induction into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of New England and received a citation for leadership from Harvard University. By 1986, Mankiller and Charlie Soap's relationship had changed from a professional one to a personal one, leading to their engagement early in the year. Not wanting to provoke calls for her to step down, they kept the relationship private until their marriage in October. It nevertheless caused controversy, generating calls for Soap to resign from his position. He resigned, effective with the end of January 1987, which generated further criticism from Mankiller's opponents, who saw the delay as a tactic for Soap to qualify for retirement benefits. Initially, Mankiller's negative experiences dissuaded her from seeking re-election, but after her opponents tried to persuade her not to run, she entered the race with Soap's support. She persuaded voters that the tribe could cooperate with state and federal governments to negotiate favorable terms to improve their opportunities. Soap, as a full-blood Cherokee, was instrumental in taking her message to that faction and defusing the gender issue, by speaking in Cherokee with them about the traditional place of women in Cherokee society. Focusing on budget cuts by the Reagan White House, she highlighted how reductions in funding for low-income housing, health and nutrition programs, and educational initiatives were affecting the tribe. While she recognized that economic development was a priority, Mankiller stressed that business development had to be balanced by addressing social problems. Weeks before the election, Mankiller was hospitalized for her kidney disease. Her opponents argued that she was medically unfit to lead the tribe. Turnout was high and even though Mankiller won 45% of the vote, tribal law required 50% to avoid a run-off with Perry Wheeler. She won the run-off, but within a week one of her supporters, who had been elected to the Tribal Council, died. The tribal election committee voted to nullify the absentee ballots for the new council membership, and Mankiller petitioned the Judicial Appeals Tribunal, which required a recount including the absentee voters. The council recount gave Mankiller's administration the majority and the seat was filled by a supporter of her policies. Mankiller used the press surrounding her election to combat the negative stereotypes about Native people, stressing their cultural heritage and strengths. She was selected as Newsmaker of the Year by the Association for Women in Communications and as Ms. magazine's Woman of the Year for 1987, and was featured in the article "Celebration of Heroes" in Newsweek July 1987 edition.

Principal Chief, first elected term (1987–1991)
One of Mankiller's first initiatives was to lobby for maintaining the operation of the Talking Leaves Job Corps Center, which the U.S. Department of Labor had placed on a list for closure. Officials agreed to suspend the closure if she could find a suitable location. She recommended that the job center be housed in the financially insolvent motel, but initially the Tribal Council denied her permission. She was able to reverse their decision by promising to take the issue directly to a vote of the tribal members. She also expanded community development programs, using the Bell Project model, and in 1987 the Kenwood Project won the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Certificate of National Merit. Announcing that the Cherokee government would not wholly fund the Heritage Center, she pressed the center to become more proactive in attracting tourists and generating income to pay for its own operational expenses. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 passed, Mankiller remained cautious about participating, though she acknowledged that other tribes had a right to do so. Concerned by research connecting gambling and crime, she did not endorse gaming for the Cherokee Nation. She also rejected requests for the tribe to store nuclear waste, given its potential to harm the environment. Eventually, she changed her stance and bingo parlors became a major revenue source for the tribe.

Founding the Private Industry Council, Mankiller brought government and private businesses together to analyze ways to generate economic growth in northeastern Oklahoma. She established employment training opportunities and programs that offered financial and technical expertise to tribal members who wanted to start their own small enterprises. She also backed the creation of a tribal electronic harness and cabling company, construction of a hydroelectric plant and a horticultural operation. Another initiative launched soon after her installment was a claim of compensation from the U.S. government for misappropriating resources from the Arkansas River. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Choctaw Nation v. Oklahoma that the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations owned the banks and riverbed of the Arkansas River. At issue was whether the tribes were entitled to be paid for the loss of access to coal, gas and oil deposits, which could no longer be extracted as the United States Army Corps of Engineers had rerouted the river during the construction of the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. The Cherokee then sued the United States for compensation, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe was entitled to it, though the claim was reversed by the Supreme Court. The three tribes filed a claim in the United States Court of Federal Claims in 1989 alleging "mismanagement of tribal trust resources". In December 1988, Mankiller's leadership was recognized with a national award bestowed by the Independent Sector, an umbrella group for non-profit organizations. The John W. Gardner Leadership Award recognized not only her community development projects, but also her administration of Cherokee Nation Industries, which had seen profits soar to over $2 million. In the middle of her first term, Mankiller was invited to the White House to meet with President Reagan to discuss Native peoples' grievances with his administration. Thinking that it was going to be a productive meeting, Mankiller, who had been chosen as one of the three spokespeople for the 16 invited chiefs, was disappointed that Reagan discounted their issues and merely reiterated his pledge for self-determination. Though she brushed off the meeting as a "photo opportunity" for the president, the publicity of the event further enhanced her image with the public. The most significant development in her first full term was the negotiation with the State of Oklahoma for tax sharing on businesses operating on Cherokee lands. The compact, signed by Governor David Walters and leadership of all of the Five Civilized Tribes except the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, allowed the chiefs to collect state taxes and retain a portion of the revenues. In June 1990, Mankiller's kidney disease worsened and one of her kidneys failed. Her brother Don donated one of his kidneys, and she underwent a kidney transplant in July, returning to work within a few weeks. While she was in Boston recuperating from the transplant, she met with officials from Washington, D.C., and signed an agreement for the Cherokee Nation to participate in a project that allowed the tribe to self-govern and assume responsibility for the use of federal funds. This change in policy had come about because of allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Hearings on the matter resulted in amendments in 1988 to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, to allow ten tribes to participate in a pilot program spanning five years. Tribes received block grants and were allowed to tailor the use of funds based on local needs. Further amendments in the early 1990s extended self-determination to the Indian Health Service. Mankiller welcomed the initiative, which reinforced intergovernmental cooperation and increased self-determination. During her first full administration, her government built new health clinics, created a mobile eye-care clinic and established ambulance services. They also created early education and adult education programs. Mankiller was recognized with an honorary degree from Yale University in 1990 and from Dartmouth College in 1991. Around the same time, the contentious relationship with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians flared again. Under Swimmer, the Cherokee Nation had filed a lawsuit against the Keetoowah Band, which traditionally had allowed members to belong to both federally recognized tribes. Mankiller had hoped to reconcile the differences between the two tribes, but the tax compact created controversy. The Keetoowah Band refused to allow the Cherokee Nation to collect taxes from its members and began a policy of requiring their tribal members to withdraw from the Cherokee Nation, claiming to be the "true" tribe representing Cherokee people. Mankiller, whose administration had established a district court to deal with the problem of Indian country being in federal jurisdiction rather than falling under state or local law enforcement, began a practice in late 1990 of negotiating cross-deputation agreements with law enforcement agencies and the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service. (Cross-deputation became formally authorized in April 1991). Raids conducted by county officials and Cherokee Marshals on 14 smoke shops licensed by the Keetoowah Band were carried out in the fall of 1990. Officials of the band failed to obtain a restraining order against the Cherokee Nation and took their grievance to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Unable to resolve the matter, the federal courts stepped in and ruled that the smoke shops of the Keetoowah Band were not exempt from state taxes.

Principal Chief, second elected term (1991–1995)
In March 1991, Mankiller announced her candidacy for the next election and shortly thereafter was invited to meet with other Indian leaders at the White House with President George H. W. Bush. Bush's officials, unlike Reagan's, were receptive to input from tribal leaders, and Mankiller hoped that a new era of "government-to-government relationships" would follow. In the June election, she won 83% of the vote. One of her first actions was to participate in a conference on educational programs for Native Americans, where she strongly opposed centralizing Indian education. Similarly, she opposed legislation proposed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives to collect cigarette taxes on products sold at Indian smoke shops to non-Indians. In the continuing battle over compensation for the loss of access to mineral rights owned by the tribe in the Arkansas River, Mankiller estimated that one-third of her time as chief was spent on trying to obtain a settlement. During the school term of 1991–1992, Mankiller's administration revived the tribal Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah. Working with the American Association of University Women, she worked on a grant program to match Cherokee mentors with girls attending the boarding school. The mentors shadowed the girls through their schooling and provided guidance on career opportunities. She also focused on issues of identity throughout her second term. Mankiller worked with tribal registrar Lee Fleming and a staff member Richard Allen to document groups which claimed Cherokee heritage, and they compiled a list of 269 associations throughout the country. After the passage of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, which provided both civil and criminal penalties for non-Native artists who promoted their work as "Indian Art", the tribe had the ability to certify artisans who could not prove their ancestry. In two highly publicized cases, involving Willard Stone and Bert Seabourn, Stone was certified, but his family asked for his certification to be removed, and Seabourn was not certified as an artist, but instead as a "goodwill ambassador". Mankiller was vocal in her disapproval of relaxing the rigorous Bureau of Indian Affairs' processes for tribal recognition, a stance for which she was frequently criticized. In 1993, she wrote to then-governor of Georgia Zell Miller, protesting the state recognition of groups claiming Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek) ancestry. She and other tribal leaders among the Five Civilized Tribes believed that the state recognition process could allow some groups to falsely claim Native heritage. During the congressional hearings on reform of the tribal recognition policies in Washington, D.C., Mankiller stated her opposition to any reform that would weaken the recognition process. During her tenure as chief, the Cherokee tribal council passed two resolutions to bar those without a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) from enrolling in the tribe. The 1988 Rules and Regulations of the Cherokee Registration Committee required applicants to possess a federal certification that they had ancestry linking them to the Dawes Rolls. The 1992 Act Relating to the Process of Enrolling as a Member of the Cherokee Nation enacted the policy into law, effectively barring Cherokee Freedmen from citizenship. Mankiller had reaffirmed "Swimmer's order on CDIBs and voting. But in 2004, Lucy Allen, a Freedman descendant, took the matter to the Cherokee Supreme Court, and the court, in a split decision, said that the descendants of Freemen were, in fact, Cherokee, could apply to be enrolled, and should have the right to vote." In 1992, Mankiller endorsed Bill Clinton for president, but did not donate any money to his campaign. She was invited to take part in an economic conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, and participated in his transition team for the presidency. Thanks to her access to high-level officials, she became the "most influential Indian leader in the country". Her autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People, published in 1993, became a national best-seller. Gloria Steinem said in a review, "As one woman's journey, Mankiller opens the heart. As the history of a people, it informs the mind. Together, it teaches us that, as long as people like Wilma Mankiller carry the flame within them, centuries of ignorance and genocide can't extinguish the human spirit". Steinem and Mankiller became close friends, and Steinem later married her partner David Bale in a ceremony at Mankiller Flats. In May, Mankiller received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Drury College; in June, she was honored with the American Association of University Women's Achievement Award; and in October was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. In 1994, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, as well as the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. That same year, Mankiller was invited by Clinton to moderate the Nation-to-Nation Summit, in which leaders of all 545 federally recognized tribes in the United States were assembled to discuss a variety of topics. The summit provided a forum for tribal leaders and government officials to resolve issues concerning jurisdiction, law, resources and religious freedom. It was followed by a conference held in Albuquerque, which included the U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of the Interior. As a result of the two meetings, the Office of Indian Justice was established by the Department of Justice. In 1995, Mankiller was diagnosed with lymphoma and chose not to run again, largely due to health problems. Because of the chemotherapy, Mankiller had to forgo the immunosuppressive drugs she had been taking since her transplant. When George Bearpaw was disqualified as a candidate, Joe Byrd succeeded her as Principal Chief. Mankiller refused to attend his inauguration, on the grounds that the disqualification of his rival was based on an expunged conviction of assault. Fearing that Byrd would fire the staff she had hired, Mankiller authorized severance packages for the workers in her final days in office. A lawsuit was filed by the new Chief on behalf of the Cherokee Nation against Mankiller, alleging embezzlement of tribal funds of $300,000 paid out to tribal officials and department heads who left at the end of her term in 1995. Cherokee Nation v. Mankiller was withdrawn by a vote of the tribal council. Reflecting on her chieftainship, Mankiller said, "We've had daunting problems in many critical areas, but I believe in the old Cherokee injunction to 'be of a good mind'. Today it's called positive thinking". When Mankiller left office, the population of the Cherokee Nation had increased from 68,000 to 170,000 citizens. The tribe was generating annual revenues of approximately $25 million from a variety of sources, including factories, retail stores, restaurants and bingo operations. She had secured federal assistance of $125 million annually to assist with education, health, housing and employment programs. Having obtained the tribe's grant for "self-governance", federal oversight of tribal funds was minimized.

Return to activism (1996–2010)
Byrd's administration became embroiled in a constitutional crisis, which he blamed on Mankiller, stating that her failure to attend his inauguration and lack of mentoring divided the tribe and left him without experienced advisors. His supporters also alleged that Mankiller was behind attempts to remove Byrd from office, an allegation she denied. She had remained silent on Byrd's administration until he accused her of heading a conspiracy. Two months after Byrd was accused of improperly using federal funds, and a month after he blamed his administration's issues on Mankiller, she went to Washington with her predecessor, Swimmer, to ask that the federal authorities allow the tribe to sort out their own problems. Despite calls from the US Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, for congressional intervention and Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe's desire for presidential action, Mankiller continued to maintain that the problem was one of inexperienced leadership, in which she did not want to be involved. When an independent group of legal analysts, known as the "Massad Commission", was assembled in 1997 to evaluate the problems in Byrd's administration, Mankiller, in spite of her ongoing health concerns, was called to testify. She reiterated at the hearings that she believed the problems stemmed from poor advisors and the Chief's lack of experience.

After her term as chief, in 1996, Mankiller became a visiting professor at Dartmouth College, where she taught in the Native American Studies program as part of the school's Montgomery Fellows program. That year, she was honored with the Elizabeth Blackwell Award from Hobart and William Smith Colleges for her exemplary service to humanity. After a semester, she began traveling on a national lecture tour, speaking on health care, tribal sovereignty, women's rights and cancer awareness. She spoke to various civic organizations, tribal gatherings, universities and women's groups. In 1997, she received an honorary degree from Smith College. In 1998, President Clinton awarded Mankiller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Shortly after that, she had a second kidney failure and received a second transplant, from her niece, Virlee Williamson. As previously, she immediately returned to work, resuming her lecture tours and working simultaneously on four books. In 1999 Mankiller was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double-lumpectomy followed by radiation treatment. That same year, The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History, co-edited by Mankiller, was published. In 2002, Mankiller contributed to the book That Takes Ovaries!: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts, and in 2004, she co-authored Every Day Is a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women. The following year, she worked with the Oklahoma Breast Cancer Summit to encourage early screening and raise awareness on the disease. In 2006, when Mankiller, along with other Native American leaders, was asked to send a pair of shoes to the Heard Museum for the exhibit Sole Stories: American Indian Footwear, she sent a simple pair of walking shoes. She chose the shoes because she had worn them all over the world, including trips from Brazil to China, and because they conveyed the normalcy of her life as well as her durability, steadfastness and determination. In 2007, Mankiller gave the Centennial Lecture in the Humanities for Oklahoma's 100th anniversary of statehood. After the lecture, she was honored with the inaugural Oklahoma Humanities Award by the Oklahoma Humanities Council. She continued her lecture tours and scholarship, and in September 2009 was named the first Sequoyah Institute Fellow at Northeastern State University.

Death and legacy
In March 2010, her husband announced that Mankiller was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. Mankiller died on April 6, 2010, from cancer at her home in rural Adair County, Oklahoma. About 1,200 people attended her memorial service at the Cherokee National Cultural Grounds in Tahlequah on April 10, including many dignitaries such as sitting Cherokee Chief Chad Smith, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, U.S. Congressman Dan Boren and Gloria Steinem. The ceremony included statements from former President and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as then President Barack Obama. Mankiller was buried in the family cemetery, Echota Cemetery, in Stilwell, and a few days later was honored with a Congressional Resolution from the U.S. House of Representatives. She was posthumously presented with the Drum Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Five Civilized Tribes. Mankiller's papers are housed in the Western History Collection at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. With 14 honorary doctorates, she left a permanent mark on both her state and the nation, through her work to build communities and stewardship of her tribe. Over the course of her three terms as Principal Chief, Mankiller reinvigorated the Cherokee Nation through community development projects where men and women work collectively for the common good. Under the national policy of Native American self-determination, Mankiller improved federal–tribal negotiations and helped create and shepherd the government-to-government relationship that the Cherokee Nation now enjoys with the U.S. federal government. She was an inspiration to Native and non-Native Americans and a role model for women and girls. "Prior to my election", Mankiller once said, "young Cherokee girls would never have thought that they might grow up and become chief". At the 2010 annual women's conference hosted by Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations (WEWIN) to promote and empower Indigenous women's leadership, for which Mankiller had been a founding board member, a scholarship was named in her honor to pay travel expenses for women to attend the gathering. A 2013 feature film, The Cherokee Word for Water, tells the story of the Bell waterline project that helped launch Mankiller's political career and started her friendship with her future husband, Charlie Soap. In the film, Mankiller is portrayed by actress Kimberly Norris Guerrero, and Soap is portrayed by actor Moses Brings Plenty. The film, produced by Kristina Kiehl and Soap, was a dream that involved more than 20 years of planning and fundraising. It was important to Mankiller that the story of the resilience of Native people be the focus of the film. The Mankiller Foundation, named in her honor, which focuses on educational, community and economic development projects, was involved in the production. In 2015, the Cherokee Nation completed construction on an addition to the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center, located in Stilwell, doubling its size and updating its equipment. The center, one of the busiest of the eight hospitals in the Cherokee Nation Health Services system, serves approximately 120,000 patients annually. In 2017 a documentary film, Mankiller, produced by Valerie RedHorse Mohl, was released. Through interviews with those who knew her and archival records, the film tells the story of Mankiller's life and her time as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. In 2018, Mankiller became one of the honorees in the first induction ceremony held by the National Native American Hall of Fame.

In 2021, it was announced that Mankiller, Maya Angelou, Sally Ride, Adelina Otero-Warren and Anna May Wong were each selected to have their likeness appear on a quarter-dollar coin as a part of the United States Mint's "American Women Quarters" Program.

In 2023, Mattel produced a Wilma Mankiller doll for their Barbie Inspiring Women series.

Selected works

 * Reprinted in

title: Wilma Mankiller


text:
User talk:Hirzel

Hello there, welcome to the 'pedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. If you need any questions answered about the project then check out Help or drop me a line. BTW, we tend to shy away from one-line definitions here in to 'pedia. Thanx for mentioning BIOS in the firmware article -- that was a rather embarrassing omission for an online encyclopedia. Cheers! --maveric149

Hi! I left you a message there: http://fr.wikipedia.com/wiki.cgi?Curry/Discuter

Greetings,

I'm curious about your addition to Linguistics:

 * The term grammar usually covers phonology, morphology and syntax.

Instead of saying "usually", could we clarify what linguists or linguistic schools use this definition? I find this important because there also seem to be other notions of "grammar". Raimo Antilla (the historical linguist) defines grammar as "morphology and syntax", apparently without phonological involvement. Linguists with a more cognitive science bent seem to define grammar much more broadly, along the lines of "all the language-related information that's in your brain". Where does your definition come from?

--Ryguasu 23:00 Jan 22, 2003 (UTC)

Hey Hannes, great work on the edits to C sharp programming language and software engineering. They both look much better because of your changes. Thanks! —Frecklefoot 15:45 10 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[[Image:WhiteEgyptianLotus.jpg|100px]]
Hi, I'm working on the image tagging project and I was wondering if you know of any licence that applies to this image that you uploaded? --nixie 03:32, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Article Licensing
Hi, I've started a drive to get users to multi-license all of their contributions that they've made to either (1) all U.S. state, county, and city articles or (2) all articles, using the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (CC-by-sa) v1.0 and v2.0 Licenses or into the public domain if they prefer. The CC-by-sa license is a true free documentation license that is similar to Wikipedia's license, the GFDL, but it allows other projects, such as WikiTravel, to use our articles. Since you are among the top 2000 Wikipedians by edits, I was wondering if you would be willing to multi-license all of your contributions or at minimum those on the geographic articles. Over 90% of people asked have agreed. For More Information:
 * Multi-Licensing FAQ - Lots of questions answered
 * Multi-Licensing Guide
 * Free the Rambot Articles Project

To allow us to track those users who muli-license their contributions, many users copy and paste the " " template into their user page, but there are other options at Template messages/User namespace. The following examples could also copied and pasted into your user page:

 * Option 1
 * I agree to multi-license all my contributions, with the exception of my user pages, as described below:

OR
 * Option 2
 * I agree to multi-license all my contributions to any U.S. state, county, or city article as described below:

Or if you wanted to place your work into the public domain, you could replace " " with "  ". If you only prefer using the GFDL, I would like to know that too. Please let me know what you think at my talk page. It's important to know either way so no one keeps asking. -- Ram-Man (comment| talk)

Image tagging
Thousands of images have no copyright tags. You can help sort this out by clicking on this link!

Image:NymphaeaRubraRoxb.Asia.jpg
Greetings. I have listed Image:NymphaeaRubraRoxb.Asia.jpg on Images and media for deletion because it has no source or licensing information, and it's not listed in any articles. If you would like this image to be kept, please add source and licensing information, and include it in an article. If you need any help with this, just ask me. Thanks! – Quadell (talk) (sleuth) 23:40, Mar 8, 2005 (UTC)

ZurichFraumuenster.jpg listed for deletion
An image that you uploaded, ZurichFraumuenster.jpg, has been listed at Images and media for deletion because it lacks source and license information, and it is not used in any articles. Please go there to voice your opinion (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you.

Typo3
Hi and thanks for the edits... it was basically what I had brought up for discussion but am unsure if you read it? Talk:Typo3 --Paul Laudanski 02:05, 9 September 2005 (UTC)

Visual Basic Classic wikibook
I see you have contributed to articles on the BASIC programming language on Wikipedia. Any chance you would like to join in editing the wikibook: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Programming:Visual_Basic_Classic? --Kjwhitefoot 11:02, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

De Foucauld
I was pleased to see that Charles de Foucauld already existed and, I might add, not really surprised upon finding your name in its history. I keep coming across your fine contributions; keep it up! You might like the images I just added. Regards, — mark ✎ 11:56, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Image Tagging Image:ZurichStPeter.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:ZurichStPeter.jpg. I notice the image page currently doesn't specify who created the image, so the copyright status is therefore unclear. If you have not created the image yourself then you need to argue that we have the right to use the image on Wikipedia (see copyright tagging below). If you have not created the image yourself then you should also specify where you found it, i.e., in most cases link to the website where you got it, and the terms of use for content from that page.

If the image also doesn't have a copyright tag then you must also add one. If you created/took the picture then you can use GFDL to release it under the GFDL. If you can claim fair use use or fairuse. See Image copyright tags for the full list of copyright tags that you can use.

If you have uploaded other images, please check that you have specified their source and copyright tagged them, too. You can find a list of image pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that any unsourced and untagged images will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. --Romeo Bravo 01:24, 28 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Hello! All you need to do is to remove User:Hirzel and replace it with GFDL-self. --Romeo Bravo 14:30, 28 December 2005 (UTC)
 * I went ahead and tagged it GFDL-self for you --Romeo Bravo 21:35, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Image source problem with Image:NympheaColorataPeterAfrica.JPG
Thanks for uploading Image:NympheaColorataPeterAfrica.JPG. I noticed that the file's description page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you did not create this file yourself, then you will need to specify the owner of the copyright. If you obtained it from a website, then a link to the website from which it was taken, together with a restatement of that website's terms of use of its content, is usually sufficient information. However, if the copyright holder is different from the website's publisher, then their copyright should also be acknowledged.

As well as adding the source, please add a proper copyright licensing tag if the file doesn't have one already. If you created/took the picture, audio, or video then the GFDL-self tag can be used to release it under the GFDL. If you believe the media meets the criteria at Fair use, use a tag such as or one of the other tags listed at Image copyright tags. See Image copyright tags for the full list of copyright tags that you can use.

If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have specified their source and tagged them, too. You can find a list of files you have uploaded by following this link. Unsourced and untagged images may be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If the image is copyrighted under a non-free license (per Fair use) then the image will be deleted 48 hours after 18:59, 29 July 2007 (UTC). If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Papa November 1 18:59, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:NympheaColorataPeterAfrica.JPG
Thank you for uploading Image:NympheaColorataPeterAfrica.JPG. However, it currently is missing information on its copyright status. Wikipedia takes copyright very seriously. It may be deleted soon, unless we can determine the license and the source of the image. If you know this information, then you can add a copyright tag to the image description page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thanks again for your cooperation. Papa November 1 18:59, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Image source problem with Image:CCommandLineArgv.png
Thanks for uploading Image:CCommandLineArgv.png. I noticed that the file's description page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you did not create this file yourself, you will need to specify the owner of the copyright. If you obtained it from a website, then a link to the website from which it was taken, together with a restatement of that website's terms of use of its content, is usually sufficient information. However, if the copyright holder is different from the website's publisher, their copyright should also be acknowledged.

As well as adding the source, please add a proper copyright licensing tag if the file doesn't have one already. If you created/took the picture, audio, or video then the GFDL-self tag can be used to release it under the GFDL. If you believe the media meets the criteria at Non-free content, use a tag such as or one of the other tags listed at Image copyright tags. See Image copyright tags for the full list of copyright tags that you can use.

If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have specified their source and tagged them, too. You can find a list of files you have uploaded by following this link. Unsourced and untagged images may be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If the image is copyrighted under a non-free license (per Fair use) then the image will be deleted 48 hours after 11:53, 25 November 2007 (UTC). If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Papa November (talk) 11:53, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

File:XSLTprocessing.PNG listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, File:XSLTprocessing.PNG, has been listed at Files for deletion. Please see the discussion to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Skier Dude ( talk ) 02:52, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Hey
Gee, now I know another reason your name sounded familiar to me when we met in Santrokofi last month. Turns out we bumped into each other way back in 2005, when I congratulated you on your contributions to De Foucauld´s article (see above). It seems neither of us is very active on Wikipedia anymore. I'm just back home from my fieldtrip. Cheers, — mark ✎ 09:18, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:52, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of XLISP

The article XLISP has been proposed for deletion  because of the following concern:
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Proposed deletion of Semiology (Gregorian Chant)

The article Semiology (Gregorian Chant) has been proposed for deletion because of the following concern: "This 2008 unreferenced article has not been improved, has a 'Bibliography' section, and too many 'External links', so obviously using them improperly as 'General references', so I added tags. This article lacks notability for a stand-alone article."

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Nomination of Dynamic HTML for deletion
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"M. A." listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=M._A.&redirect=no M. A.] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Anyone, including you, is welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Shhhnotsoloud (talk) 16:11, 4 August 2023 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:Hirzel


text:
NPP Zvezda

JSC Research & Development Production Enterprise Zvezda, or R&D PE Zvezda (Научно-производственное предприятие "Звезда", НПП Звезда, lit. "Star"), is a Russian manufacturer of life-support systems for high-altitude flight and human spaceflight. Its products include space suits, ejector seats, aircraft escape slides, lifejackets and fire extinguishers. It is based in Tomilino, near Moscow.

Guy Illich Severin was the General Director and General Designer of the company from 1964 to 2008. Sergey S. Pozdnyakov has been General Director since 2008.

History
The organization was founded in 1952 to develop aviation pressure suits and in-flight refuelling systems for the USSR's space research programme. In the 1960s it began to design space suits, including the one worn by Yuri Gagarin. In 1965, a Berkut spacesuit was worn during the first spacewalk. The Orlan-M space suit was used by cosmonauts in the Mir space station. Zvezda became a joint-stock company in 1994.

Products
Zvezda is also Russia's primary manufacturer of ejector seats for Russian fighter aircraft. The K-36 ejector seat was studied at length by the US Navy and Air Force; IBP Aircraft (currently UTC Aerospace Systems) opened up a factory in the US to manufacture it for the F-22 Raptor and the Joint Strike Fighter. The US government, however, selected the Martin-Baker seat from the United Kingdom for its new fighter jet.

For improved pilot survivability, the Russian Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" helicopter is fitted with a NPP Zvezda K-37-800 ejection seat, which is a rare feature for a helicopter. Before the rocket in the ejection seat kicks in, rotor blades are blown away by explosive charges in the rotor disc and the canopy is similarly jettisoned. Also, there is a special ejection seat made for L-39 known as K-93.

The company has patented a lightweight ejection seat for general aviation aircraft, such as SKS-94, KS-2012.

The company also designed a unique complex consisting of ejection seat K-36RB for Buran space vehicle. The system is designed to allow the evacuation of the Buran as the crew at takeoff and landing.

List of directors

 * 1952–1964 – SM Alekseev – responsible manager and chief designer of the plant.
 * 1964–2008 – Guy Severin – General Director and General Designer.
 * 2008–n. at. – S. Pozdnyakov – General Director and Chief Designer.

title: NPP Zvezda


text:
User:Hirzel

Hannes Hirzel

Interest / contribution

Stubs

 * Africa Alphabet
 * African reference alphabet
 * FrameNet
 * Prefix morpheme
 * Sign (linguistics)
 * Sonogram
 * Standard Alphabet by Lepsius

phonetics

 * Approximant
 * Cardinal vowel
 * Consonant
 * Daniel Jones (phonetician)
 * Formant
 * International Phonetic Alphabet
 * Manner of articulation
 * Fricative consonant
 * Nasal consonant
 * Place of articulation
 * Stop consonant
 * Vowel

phonology

 * Phoneme
 * Phonology

orthography, graphemics, writing

 * Alphabet
 * Diacritic
 * Diaresis
 * Digraph
 * ISO 8859-1
 * Unicode
 * Universal Character Set
 * Keyboard layout
 * Pasigraphy

Morphology (linguistics)

 * Agglutinating language
 * Morphology (linguistics)
 * Regular expression
 * Suffix morpheme

Semantics, Lexical Semantics

 * Lexical semantics
 * Lexicography
 * Feature structure

Relations

 * homonym
 * synonym
 * antonym
 * paronyms
 * hypernym
 * hyponym
 * meronymy
 * metonymy
 * holonymy

 * polysemy
 * thematic role

Other

 * Hausa
 * SVO
 * Phrase structure rules

Internet / Web technology

 * CSS
 * Dynamic HTML
 * ECMAScript
 * HTTP
 * Java
 * DHCP
 * TCP/IP
 * XSL
 * XSLT
 * XUL

File formats

 * File format
 * PPM
 * RTF
 * TeX
 * UTF-8

Tools / Applications

 * Emacs
 * OpenOffice.org
 * Word processor
 * Ontology editor
 * sed
 * E-learning
 * moodle

Other

 * C
 * Command line interpreter
 * Glossary
 * Graph theory
 * ISO 9660
 * KNOPPIX
 * MMIX
 * Object (computing)
 * Ontology (computer science)
 * Smalltalk
 * SOAP
 * Topic map
 * UnionFS
 * Virtual machine

title: User:Hirzel


text:
Zvezda

Zvezda means "star" in some Slavic languages, and may refer to:

Entertainment

 * Zvezda (magazine), Russian literary magazine
 * Zvezda (TV channel), Russian TV channel
 * Star (2014 film), a Russian film
 * The Star (1953 film), a Russian film
 * The Star (2002 film), a Russian film
 * Zvezda (cinema) a squatted cinema in Belgrade
 * Zvezda, Serbian literary journal founded and edited by Serbian writer Janko Veselinović

Places

 * Lake Zvezda, Antarctica
 * Zvezda, Burgas Province, Bulgaria
 * Zvezda, Targovishte Province, a village in Targovishte Province, Bulgaria
 * Zvezde, Village in Albania

Space

 * Zvezda (ISS module), component of the International Space Station
 * Zvezda (moonbase), non-realized Soviet moonbase as well as a fictional Soviet base on the moon in the lunar south pole in the For All Mankind TV Series.
 * Zvezda spaceplane, a Soviet spaceplane project; see Buran programme
 * NPP Zvezda, Russian aeronautical and space manufacturer
 * Soyuz 7K-VI Zvezda, non-realized Soviet crewed capsule spacecraft for military goals

Sports

 * Zvezda Stadium, a multi-use stadium in Perm, Russia
 * FK Crvena zvezda or Red Star Belgrade, a Serbian football club
 * FC Zvezda-BGU Minsk, a Belarusian football team
 * FC Zvezda Irkutsk, a Russian football team
 * FC Zvezda Saint Petersburg, a Russian football team playing in the Professional Football League
 * Zvezda-2005 Perm, a women's football team from Perm

Other uses

 * Zvezda (company), Russian scale models company
 * Zvezda (newspaper), Russian émigré weekly converted into the Bolsheviks' Pravda
 * Zvezda (watch), line of Soviet watches produced by the Petrodvorets Watch Factory from 1945 to the late 1960s
 * Zvezda M503, diesel engine built in the 1970s by the Soviet Union
 * Zvezda shipyard DVZ, large east Russian shipbuilding wharf
 * The titular fictional organization in the anime World Conquest Zvezda Plot

title: Zvezda


text:
Firefox (film)

Firefox is a 1982 American action techno-thriller film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name by Craig Thomas.

The film was set in Russia, but Cold War considerations had Eastwood's and Fritz Manes's Malpaso Company using Vienna and other locations in Austria to double for many of the Eurasian story locations. One source indicates that the film was shot on a $21 million budget, the largest production budget ever for Malpaso. Another source indicates that over $20 million was spent on special effects.

Plot

A joint British-American plot is devised to steal a highly advanced Soviet fighter aircraft (MiG-31, NATO code name "Firefox") which is capable of Mach 6 (hypersonic flight), is invisible to radar, and carries weapons controlled by thought. Former United States Air Force Major Mitchell Gant, a Vietnam veteran, ex member of the Aggressor squadron and former prisoner of war, infiltrates the Soviet Union, aided by his ability to speak and think in Russian (due to him having had a Russian mother) and a network of Soviet dissidents, three of whom are key scientists working on the fighter itself. His goal is to steal the Firefox and fly it back to friendly territory for analysis.

However, the KGB has got wind of the operation and is already looking for Gant. It is only through the dissidents that Gant remains one step ahead of the KGB and reaches the air base at Bilyarsk, where the Firefox prototype is under heavy guard. The dissidents working on the Firefox help Gant infiltrate the base. Pyotr Baranovich, one of the scientists, briefs Gant on the operation of the aircraft but warns him that there is a second prototype in the hangar that must be destroyed. The diversion will allow Gant to enter the hangar and escape with the first Firefox. Gant knocks out Lt. Colonel Yuri Voskov, a Soviet pilot assigned to take the first prototype on its maiden flight during a visit from the Soviet First Secretary. The scientists cause an explosive disruption, but the second prototype is undamaged. Baranovich is singled out for execution but manages to kill one of the guards with a concealed pistol before he and the other scientists are shot. Gant uses the commotion to enter the Firefox and fly it off the base.

Evading the Soviets' attempts to stop him, Gant barely reaches the Arctic ice pack and lands, making a rendezvous with a U.S. submarine whose crew refuels and rearms the aircraft. However, Gant's last-minute refusal to kill Voskov has consequences; the Soviet pilot flies the second prototype, with orders to intercept him at the North Cape area. Gant completes the rendezvous and is on the way home when Voskov engages him in a dogfight. After a long battle, Gant finally remembers to fire one of his rearward missiles and Voskov's plane is destroyed. Satisfied that there are no other Soviet forces chasing him, Gant begins his flight to safety.

Cast

 * Clint Eastwood as Major Mitchell Gant
 * Freddie Jones as Kenneth Aubrey
 * David Huffman as Captain Buckholz
 * Warren Clarke as Pavel Upenskoy
 * Ronald Lacey as Dr. Maxim Ilyich Semelovsky
 * Kenneth Colley as Colonel Kontarsky
 * Klaus Löwitsch as General Vladimirov
 * Nigel Hawthorne as Dr. Pyotr Baranovich
 * Stefan Schnabel as First Secretary
 * Thomas Hill as General Brown
 * Curt Lowens as Dr. Schuller
 * Clive Merrison as Major Lanyev
 * Kai Wulff as Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Voskov
 * Dimitra Arliss as Dr. Natalia Baranovich
 * Austin Willis as Walters
 * Michael Currie as Captain Seerbacker
 * Alan Tilvern as Air Marshal Kutuzov
 * Oliver Cotton as Dmitri Priabin
 * Hugh Fraser as Police Inspector Tortyev
 * Wolf Kahler as KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov

Production
The film was based on the creation of a "mythical" super fighter: the MiG-31 Firefox. The original Firefox from the novel was, cosmetically, nearly identical to the MiG-25. The more intimidating version seen in the movie was created specifically for the film, and takes many of its design cues from the SR-71 Blackbird. In the sequel novel, Firefox Down, the Firefox's appearance is described as matching the one in the film. For filming, four large-scale replicas were created, along with one full-size model that had dimensions of 66 feet long, 44 feet wide, and 20 feet high. The full-size model was built from a radio station broadcast-antenna skeleton and was capable of taxiing at 30–40 mph.

Filming occurred in 1981 at a number of locations including Vienna, Austria; Montana; California; London and Greenland's Thule Air Force Base. Second unit filming was in San Diego, California. Hollywood aerial cinematographer Clay Lacy flew second unit aerial sequences in a Learjet 23 high-speed aerial platform, for scenes that were later integrated into the film.

Special effects supervisor John Dykstra pioneered a new technique for shooting the complex flying sequences, called reverse blue-screen photography. This involved coating the model with phosphorus paint and photographing it first with strong lighting against a black background and then with ultraviolet light to create the necessary male and female mattes to separate the foreground model and the background footage. This enabled the shiny black model to be photographed flying against a clear blue sky and gleaming white snow; compare this with traditional bluescreen technique used in The Empire Strikes Back. The original scale model made by Gregory Jein used in the bluescreen work is now on display at the Warner Bros. Museum.

Reception
Author Howard Hughes gave Firefox a negative review, "Watch the trailer, read the book, play the game — just avoid the film, it's another Eiger Sanction. Less a 'Firefox', it's more of a damp squib, or at best a smoldering turkey." Vincent Canby's review in The New York Times made a similar assessment, zeroing in on Eastwood's lack of control over the plot line. "Firefox is only slightly more suspenseful than it is plausible. It's a James Bond movie without girls, a Superman movie without a sense of humor." However, Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, describing it as "a slick, muscular thriller that combines espionage with science fiction. The movie works like a well-crafted machine." Todd McCarthy of Variety panned the film as "a burn-out. Lethargic, characterless and, at 137 minutes, at least a half-hour too long." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote that it was "generally entertaining," but "would be a lot more so if Eastwood, who served as producer-director, had excised some of the laborious buildup to the final shootout. Instead, we are asked to sit through some boring patches in which he avoids detection by Russian security officers, who seem to speak Russian or English whenever they like. What's uninteresting about all of this is that we know that Clint is going to make it to the plane. So, let's get on with it." Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times called the film "a sagging, overlong disappointment, talky and slow to ignite. It is the first time that Eastwood the director has served Eastwood the actor-icon so badly, and it is unnerving." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote, "Both loyal fans and neutral observers may agree that Eastwood has steered himself into a peculiarly murky flight path on this occasion," calling the plot "far-fetched" and expressing disappointment that "the Firefox doesn't look all that formidable on the screen ... The only in-flight special effect that stirs the imagination is the parallel curtains of water that suddenly erupt in the wake of the plane as it whooshes across the ocean."

As of August 2023, the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 41% based on reviews from 17 critics.

Video game
A laserdisc arcade game, based on the movie, was released by Atari in 1983.

title: Firefox (film)


text:
Erik Scavenius

Erik Julius Christian Scavenius (13 July 1877 – 29 November 1962) was the Danish foreign minister from 1909 to 1910, 1913 to 1920 and 1940 to 1943, and prime minister from 1942 to 1943, during the occupation of Denmark until the Danish elected government ceased to function. He was the foreign minister during some of the most important periods of Denmark's modern history, including the First World War, the plebiscites over the return of northern Schleswig to Denmark, and the German occupation. Scavenius was a member of the Landsting (the upper house of the Danish parliament before 1953) from 1918 to 1920 and from 1925 to 1927 representing the Social Liberal Party. He was chairman of its party organization from 1922 to 1924.

Scavenius belonged to a tradition of elite governance that distrusted democratically elected politicians at a time when they were gaining power and influence. He believed that many of them were influenced by ignorant strains of populism and ill-equipped to face tough compromises and realities. For example, during the negotiations over the return of territory to Denmark following the First World War, he advocated a more cautious approach than many more nationalistic figures. He believed that areas that were mostly German should stay in Germany.

His policy of accommodation and compromise toward the Nazi occupation authorities in Denmark during the Second World War is one of the enduring controversies of Danish history. Some see it as a necessary compromise to protect the Danish state and people, but others see it as unnecessarily accommodating of totalitarian Nazi Germany.

Early life
The Scavenius family belongs to the Danish nobility. It was in the family tradition to work as a diplomat. Scavenius graduated in economics from the University of Copenhagen in 1901. Soon afterward, he became employed in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a secretary at the Danish Embassy in Berlin from 1906 to 1908, a time forming his emphasis upon the primacy of Danish-German relations. Then, he became head of section in the ministry.

Diplomatic and civil career
He was an envoy to Vienna and Rome from 1912 to 1913 and to Stockholm from 1924 to 1932. From 1932 to 1940, he was chairman of the board of the major daily Politiken. Scavenius was the owner of a large estate from 1915 to 1946. After 1945, he experienced marital and economic difficulties.

Foreign Minister
The appointment of the 32-year-old head of section Scavenius as minister of Foreign Affairs in the Radical Left Social Liberal cabinet Danish: Det Radikale Venstre (1909–1910) came as a surprise. He was reappointed when the party formed another cabinet in 1913. During World War I, he strongly put his efforts into the continuation of "the German course", a policy of keeping Denmark out of conflict with its neighbouring great power through adaptation. Among other things he supported giving in to the German demands to mine the Danish straits in August 1914.

Scavenius was also an important figure as foreign minister during the negotiations surrounding the return of parts of Schleswig to Denmark following the war. Scavenius was one of the chief advocates of the Danish government's official position, advocating a return of only territories with clear Danish majorities (see Easter Crisis of 1920). That was opposed to the more "maximalist" position which demanded a return of all previously Danish territories south to the "Danevirke".

Occupation of Denmark
Scavenius became foreign minister again during most of the German occupation of Denmark. As such, he was the most important liaison between the Danish government and the German authorities. In addition, he was prime minister for some of the war as head of a coalition cabinet after the Telegram Crisis. He was more of a professional diplomat than an elected politician and held an elitist approach to government. At this time, the Social Liberal Party did not consider Scavenius to be its representative although the party accepted his line, along with the other coalition parties.

Scavenius was concerned that emotional public opinion would destabilise his attempts to build a compromise between Danish sovereignty and the realities of occupation. He felt strongly that he was Denmark's most ardent defender. After the war, there was much recrimination of his stance, particularly from members of the active resistance, who felt that he had hindered the cause of resistance and threatened Denmark's national honour. He felt that these people were vain and seeking to build their own reputations or political careers through emotionalism.

After 29 August 1943, Erik Scavenius lost all of his real powers when the German authorities dissolved the Danish government following the refusal of that government to crack down on unrest to the satisfaction of the German plenipotentiary. His cabinet resigned in 1943 and suspended operations. The resignation was never formally accepted by King Christian X of Denmark so the cabinet existed de jure, until a new one was formed following the liberation on 5 May 1945. Scavenius was politically isolated after 1945, but the parliamentary commission on misconduct during the Occupation did not find reason to impeach him for the High Court of the Realm for maladministration of office in its report in 1955.

Legacy
Debate continues over his legacy, and he remains one of the most controversial figures in the history of Danish politics. For example, on the 60th anniversary of the 29 August dissolution of government, prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen chastised his predecessor for his stance, saying that it was naive and morally unacceptable. However, historians like Bo Lidegaard and Søren Mørch contend that it was only through Scavenius's policies that Denmark escaped the worst hardships of the war. Bertel Haarder, then a minister in the Rasmussen government, rebutted Lidegaard's theory in 2005, calling it revisionist and arguing that Scavenius carried out an unnecessarily pro-German policy, which was unpopular, dishonourable, and unjustifiable long-term, as he thought that Germany was likely to win the war.

Papers found in the Danish Royal Library revealed that in 1961, Scavenius had been informed that he would be awarded the Israeli Medallion of Merit. The medallion was due to be presented to him by Eleanor Roosevelt at a ceremony in the United States later that year, but his poor health made Scavenius cancel his appearance. Unknown circumstances caused the medallion to be never officially awarded to him.

title: Erik Scavenius


text: Category:Religion by country

title: Category:Religion by country


text:
User talk:Chmod007/Archive 1

Just another blanked talk page.

 * Hopefully you "at least for now" means you'll come back later? We miss you already :-( Theresa Knott (The snott rake) 22:27, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Thank you for supporting my bid for adminship. Enjoy your wikiholiday! --Woggly 20:58, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I, too, hope to see you return soon. You are an asset to Wikipedia. Rdsmith4— Dan | Talk 21:10, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Enjoy your vacation and come back when you can -- you're missed. :-) I look forward to being surprised by your username on a talk page or on RC sometime in the future... Jwrosenzweig 04:10, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I think it's time you returned, and resumed the good work you have been doing here. Soon! Giano 08:55, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I never realize how precious someone/something is until they dissappear... I miss you, David, and I hope that you'll come back. --Lst27 ( t a l k )  15:36, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Agreed; your absence is palpable! Enjoy your wikiholiday, and I hope you'll be back soon. Timbo 20:08, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

David, we're poorer in your absence. I hope you'll see fit to return. Mackensen (talk) 02:57, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

RfC
If you don't mind me asking, I'd appriciate your support at Requests for comment/Mbecker. Thanks. BTW, nice username! — マイケル   ₪  04:42, Dec 29, 2004 (UTC)

Hi David!
It's great to see you back, even on an occasional basis! --Bishonen | Talk 22:06, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Glad to see you too, Bish. — David Remahl 05:32, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Good to see you back David. —RaD Man (talk) 03:14, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * BTW: While you're visiting, check out 666,666th pool! —RaD Man (talk) 03:17, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Of course, I would be delighted if you would go away again. --Jscott 07:26, 4 August 2005 (UTC)

Thanks
Thank you for releasing the AOL/IP number block. Although I know these blocks are not directed at me, I do find them increasingly annoying. Appreciate your vigilence. WBardwin 07:55, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
 * A good reason to look for a better ISP ;-). — David Remahl 07:57, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Agreed, but high speed internet is not yet available in our geographic area. One disadvantage of a home in the mountains.  Thank you for your efforts.  This seems to be a particularly nasty vandal.  WBardwin 17:01, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

Criteria_for_speedy_deletion/Proposal/3-C
Hello! Sorry to bother you, but since you voted on the earlier CSD proposal about unremarkable bands, it would be appreciated if you cast your vote for this version. It has been reworded to address concerns raised against the earlier wording. Please take a look at it and consider if you support or oppose it. Yours, Radiant_ >|< 08:45, July 15, 2005 (UTC)

Hey! Hej!
How delighful to see you on my page, David! (Doing good deeds as usual, yet!) Bishonen | talk 16:35, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delightful to be here, indeed! Glad to see that you're still working hard on the literature topics. I just stopped by to read an article and decided to make a few innocent edits. Suddenly I feel a strong force pulling me towards the Village Pump. :-). No, I think I'll keep it casual this time. But it's nice to see that everything has remained as I left it (give or take 125 000 articles). GNAA on VfD again, CSD still being voted on, no consensus on what type of images to use where :).

 * I'm actually living in california right now, doing a software engineering internship at Apple. Love it here...Wouldn't come back in the autumn if I had the option (i.e. a permanent visa). I dislike a whole lot about the U.S., and fancy most things about Sweden, but there is just something about this company :). — David Remahl 00:52, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Good to see you again
Hey, I noticed you voted on CSD. Good to see you around again. Just stick to editing articles on topics that interest you, and stay away from the stupid Wiki-politics and Wiki-lawyering, and avoid burnout! Noel (talk) 02:00, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
 * -). You're right probably. Still, I'm an admin and have some responsibility to stay up-to-date and weigh in on new policy. (Luckily no-one managed to create a policy for the automatic de-op'ing of admins after an arbitrary amount of time...). Your advice is appreciated! — David Remahl 03:01, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Sasquatch's RfA
Thanks for your support on my RfA! I will use all my powers to improve wikipedia. Thanks and cheers! Sasquatch′↔T↔C 04:45, July 28, 2005 (UTC)

Your comment
Your comment on the kang article bummed me out. Did you not bother to double-click on the image and see the info on photo source there? P0M 02:05, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Hi Patrick! I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it as criticism. I was trying to explain where Mihoshi [might be/is] coming from. I wasn't talking about the source of the image, but of the facts themselves. A style for citations is evolving on Wikipedia. For an example of references in action, see Open cluster. An example would be to add a reference to where you read / heard that the heat capacity of kang beds is so great.

 * Sources are important not primarily from a copyright perspective, but to ensure verifiability and no original research. Again, I didn't mean to sound hostile, just to give you a helpful tip. Regards, — David Remahl 03:08, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

This is what Miyoshi said:
 * This article looks like something copied from a magazine, or more likely, a website. There's no source attributed, so it looks like plagary to me. Mihoshi 17:38, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Miyoshi was apologetic about "where he was coming from." Let's just drop this discussion. P0M 04:21, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

kmccoy's RFA
Hey, David,

Thanks for your support on my RFA. I'm glad that you appreciated my comment in the "candidate questions" section, especially. kmccoy (talk) 06:18, 4 August 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:Chmod007/Archive 1


text:
User talk:Goatsmilk

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia!

Here are some tips to help you get started:

 * If you haven't already, please add your name to the new user log to let others know a little about yourself.
 * Read the Tutorial, and feel free to experiment in the Sandbox.
 * Eventually, you might want to read the Manual of Style and Policies and Guidelines.
 * If you need help, post a question at the Help Desk or ask me on my talk page.
 * Explore, be bold in editing pages, and, most importantly, have fun!

Good luck! Jrdioko

P.S. One last helpful hint. To sign your posts like I did above (on talk pages, for example) use the '~' symbol. To insert just your name, type ~~~ (3 tildes), or, to insert your name and timestamp, use ~~~~ (4 tildes).

I just wanted to let you know that your contributions to George W. Bush are very useful. Thanks. Hope to see you around! Also, I thought I'd get a plug in for Help desk; if you have any questions, you can post them there and they'll be answered by real live humans. Good luck! Meelar 20:47, 31 May 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Goatsmilk


text:
Category:Stars

This top-category page is for specific stars.
 * For groupings of stars, see the sub-category Stellar groupings
 * For multi-star systems, see the sub-category Star systems.
 * For star clusters, see the sub-category Star clusters.
 * Galaxies are not under this hierarchy, see Category:Galaxies

title: Category:Stars


text:
Pospolite ruszenie

Pospolite ruszenie (, lit. mass mobilization; "Noble Host",, the French term levée en masse is also used ) was the wartime mobilisation of all or a specific part of able-bodied male population of the state into armed forces during the period of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The tradition of wartime mobilisation of part of the population existed from before the 13th century to the 19th century. In the later era, pospolite ruszenie units were formed from the szlachta (Polish "nobility"). The pospolite ruszenie was eventually outclassed by professional forces.

Rise
Before the 13th century, the feudal levy of knights was the customary method employed in the raising of Polish armies in the Kingdom of Poland of the Late Middle Ages. The earliest mentions of the term can be traced to the reign of Władysław I the Elbow-high (1320–1333). Statutes of Casimir the Great made the service in the military obligatory for all knights-landowners, under the penalty of land confiscation. The more wealthy knights provided a lances fournies unit (known in Poland as kopia), and the less prosperous ones served as a light horseman or even infantryman. They were obliged to take arms and defend the country, and to participate in wars in foreign lands.

As the knights (later, nobles - the szlachta class) started to acquire privileges, some of them began to change the way that the pospolite ruszenie functioned. The length of the service was set at two weeks. The Privilege of Buda of 1355 required the king to compensate any losses incurred by the nobles in wars abroad, and the Privilege of Koszyce of 1374 required him to pay the ransom for any nobles taken into captivity during wars abroad. A privilege of 1388 extended that compensation for losses incurred when defending the country and confirmed that the nobles were to receive a monetary wage for their participation and that they should be consulted with by the king beforehand.

The early pospolite ruszenie also put the requirement of military service on the landowning knights in the priesthood, and on the peasant leaders (sołtys and wójts). The few townsfolk who owned land estates would also have the obligation to serve. It could be called by the king, or in his absence and in dire need, from the 14th century, the starost of the affected territory. From 1454 another privilege (the Privilege of Cerkwica, confirmed the same year by the Statutes of Nieszawa) made the calling of a pospolite ruszenie conditional on the agreement of the local sejmik (regional parliament) and, by the end of the 15th century, this required the agreement of the national parliament, the sejm. Some of the above privileges were extorted by the szlachta from the king, as a pospolite ruszenie was known to refuse to act unless more privileges were granted to it (this was the case, for example, in 1454).

Pospolite ruszenie units were usually organized based on a territorial and administrative division of Kingdom of Poland (later, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), within units known as voivodeships (Latin 'palatinate'), and smaller ones. The knights (nobles) would be gathered by castellans and voivodes, who led them to the chosen points where the command would pass to the military commanders (hetmans) or the king. The units would be organized into units of about 50-120 strong (chorągiew), based on their territorial origin. There were some exceptions, as the most powerful magnates would form their own chorągiews.

Decline
Szlachta from regions like the Commonwealth's eastern and southern borderlands, where combat was common, created fairly competent units, while those from peaceful regions of the Commonwealth lacked battle experience and training compared to regular-military troops or mercenaries. In time, pospolite ruszenie became increasingly amateurish and inefficient when compared to professional soldiers; Bardach notes that this process can be seen as early as the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66). In addition to the lack of training, discipline and unstandardized equipment, the time it took for a pospolite ruszenie to be called to arms and gathered in a designed spot (often, close to a month) was also a problem. Some attempts at reform the situation, including a mass wave of estate confiscations at 1497, and a requirement for yearly gatherings and reviews, did little to ameliorate the situation.

From the 15th century, pospolite ruszenie levies were used less often than were professional military troops. By mid-16th century, pospolite ruszenie could, in theory, have fielded about 50,000 troops.

By the 17th century, the military value of the pospolite ruszenie was very limited, and was last called to participate in the Battle of Warsaw of 1656 during The Deluge (the battle ended with a Polish defeat). Nonetheless, the szlachta continued to believe they formed an elite army, and that their participation in the defense of the country was an important reason for their privileged position in it. As this was used as a justifications for lower taxation, the Commonwealth treasury found itself increasingly starved for funds to pay to regular, standing army. With the Commonwealth Army reduced by that time to around 16,000, it was easy for its neighbors to overpower its armies (the Imperial Russian Army numbered 300,000; the Prussian Army and Imperial Austrian Army, 200,000).

Final reforms, partitions and the Second Polish Republic
During the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794, under the influence of revolutionary France and Enlightenment ideas about the role of the militia, pospolite ruszenie was redefined as consisted of not only the nobility, but all able-bodied males between 18 and 40 years of age. In 1806, by decree of Napoleon, the pospolite ruszenie in the Duchy of Warsaw served for a short period as the reserve force and recruitment pool for the regular army. During the November Uprising in 1831, the Sejm (Polish Parliament) called for pospolite ruszenie recruits from the ages of 17 to 50, but that plan was opposed by General Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki.

During the Second Republic of Poland (1918–1939), the pospolite ruszenie consisted of reserve soldiers, aged 40–50 and officers, aged 50–60. They were required to participate in army exercises and to serve in armed forces during times of war.

title: Pospolite ruszenie