In the wolf clan culture of the Cherokees, the last one walking describes the member of the pack who trails the others to keep watch for danger and opportunity. The leader of the pack and the last one walking form a bond of trust within the pack.

Charlie Soap’s name in Cherokee, Ohni ai (ᎣᏂ ᎠᎢ), translates in English as, “the last one walking.” His life has been built around the Cherokee value of “ga-du-gi,” collective action for the common good. As such, he is one of the most consequential community leaders in the Cherokee Nation’s history as a tribe in Oklahoma. 

Many readers know the tragic story of the Trail of Tears, the government’s forcible removal of tribes from the southeastern U.S. to Indian Territory, but they may not know the triumphant story of the Cherokees’ against-all-odds effort to build waterlines, sanitation, and housing in some of the country’s poorest communities. Across the rocky hills of northeastern Oklahoma, the Cherokee people accomplished this largely on their own with volunteer labor and expertise.

Never elected to tribal office, Charlie was married to Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller. As a full-blood, bilingual Cherokee, he often played the role of translator, facilitator, and strategic leader between and amongst the people, the tribe, the traditional elders, and non-Indian governments.