Editing Bell, Oklahoma (section)

==Bell waterline project==
In the early 1980s, the [[Cherokee Nation]], under the direction of [[Wilma Mankiller]] (then the director of the Cherokee Nation Community Development Department, later principal [[Tribal chief|chief]]) and her colleague (and future husband) Charlie Soap, put together a project to build a 16-mile waterline to Bell, where many of the residents still had no indoor plumbing. The tribe provided equipment and technological assistance, while Bell residents contributed most of the labor on a volunteer basis. The project drew widespread attention and launched Mankiller's political career.<ref>Wilma Mankiller and [[Michael Wallis]], ''Mankiller: A Chief and Her People'' ([[Macmillan Books]], 2000), {{ISBN|978-0312206628}}, pp. 233ff. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sO8MCP8ImYEC&dq=bell+waterline+mankiller&pg=PA233 Excerpts available] at [[Google Books]].</ref> The project is the subject of a 2013 feature film, ''The Cherokee Word for Water''.<ref>Michael Overall, [http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20121130_11_A10_CUTLIN758441 "'Cherokee Word for Water,' film about Wilma Mankiller, to premiere at Circle Cinema"], ''[[Tulsa World]]'', November 30, 2012 (pay site).</ref><ref>Teddye Snell, [http://tahlequahdailypress.com/local/x640622564/The-story-of-Bell " The story of Bell: A new movie will highlight a waterline project spurred by the late former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller."]  ''[[Tahlequah Daily Press]]'', August 30, 2011.</ref>