he WVU Native American Studies Program Proudly Welcomes
T
2015 Elder – In – Residence
CHARLIE SOAP
(CHEROKEE NATION)
“The CHEROKEE WORD
for WATER”
Film Screening & Dialogue
with Producer/Director
Charlie Soap
Wednesday April 1st, 2015
Room G20, Ming Hsieh Hall
5:30pm Welcome Reception
6:00pm Film & Dialogue
guest appearance by co-producer Kristina Kiehl
—free & open to the public—
About our Elder-in-Residence: Charlie Soap, who produced
and directed the film, "The Cherokee Word for Water," embodies
the idea that communities working together can create their own
solutions. Mr. Soap and his wife, Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma
Mankiller (1945-2010), dedicated many years to working on
community development initiatives. They were leaders in the Bell
Waterline Project that inspired this beautiful movie.
Charlie is a full-blood bilingual Cherokee and has a
Bachelor’s Degree in education from Northeastern State Univ.
He served in the U.S. Navy from l965-1969. He's dedicated his
career to strengthening Cherokee communities. Mr. Soap has
promoted and worked with the construction of numerous
community buildings and various other critical community-based
self-help initiatives.
He was awarded the Common Cause Public Service
Achievement Award and two National Certificates of Merit from
the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Soap
has lectured at numerous institutions, including Cornell, Arizona
State Law School, Tufts, Indiana State, the University of
Maryland, and the Mayo Clinic, to name a few.
He worked with business, education, and political leaders to
establish the Boys and Girls Club of Tahlequah. Under his
leadership as its founding director, the Club served thousands of
children and operated a comprehensive summer enrichment
program. Working with Tahlequah Public Schools he developed
the first after-school programs in the system, which then served
as a national model. He was Director of the Cherokee Nation
Community Development Department and for seven years was
the Oklahoma Area Director of the Christian Children’s Fund.
Mr. Soap, a skilled photographer currently working on a book
of his original photographs of indigenous people of the Amazon,
is also a fancy war dancer, avid golfer, fisherman, and cyclist.
Film trailer: http://www.cw4w.com/#about-the-film
“…poor people in general have a much greater capacity for
leadership and for solving their own problems than they’re ever
given credit for.”
Wilma Mankiller, former Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation
Mr. Soap’s residency is made possible by
the Carolyn Reyer Visiting Lectureship,
WVU’s Leadership Studies Program, and
the College of Education and Human Services
Office of Diversity & Global Initiatives
Contact the Native American Studies Program:
Coordinator: BonnieM.Brown@mail.wvu.edu
304.293.4626
Twitter: @WVU_NASprogram
Facebook: WVU Native American Studies Program
**Program approved for 2 social work CE hours by WVU School of Social Work**
(sign language interpreter and closed-captions available for our hearing impaired guests)