The U.S. Mint announced it will begin circulating a coin honoring Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and an activist for Native American and women’s rights.

The Mint will begin circulating the quarter on June 13. Mankiller’s coin is part of the American Women Quarters Program, a four-year program that celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women who have shaped America’s history.

Mankiller, born in 1945, moved to California as a child after drought ruined her family’s land. After encountering poverty, racism and culture shock, she returned and founded the Community Development Department for the Cherokee Nation.

She was elected chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1987 and reelected four years later.

She remained a strong voice worldwide for social justice, native people, and women, the U.S. Mint said.

The U.S. Mint last week unveiled new quarter designs that will be released in 2022 that honor the lives of "trailblazing American women."

The five new quarters are the first of 20 new designs that the Mint will release between 2022 and 2025 as part of the American Women Quarters program. The program honors diverse women who have made an impact on American history through "suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts."

"These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture," United States Mint Acting Director Alison L. Doone said in a statement. "Generations to come will look at coins bearing these designs and be reminded of what can be accomplished with vision, determination and a desire to improve opportunities for all."

The 2022 designs will honor poet and activist Maya Angelou, astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, activist and principal Cherokee Nation chief Wilma Mankiller, suffragette Nina Otero-Warren and film star Wilma May Wong.

The five unique designs will feature a depiction of each woman and their name, along with the U.S. motto, "E pluribus unum."

Visit the U.S. Mint's website to learn more about each design.