Women of Alaska

Women of Alaska have supported the ongoing health and enduring strength of communities across the state. From the establishment of the League of Women Voters Alaska to participation in sporting events and competitions, women have been a force in driving growth and diversity in their communities. In 1985, Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and has inspired women of all backgrounds to pursue the sport of dog sledding. Invaluable in the preservation of traditional knowledge and cultures, the revival of Native languages, and champions for the arts and humanities, women have advocated for the values and sustainable practices that enrich the fabric of our society.

For generations women have participated in civics. Through politics and governance, law enforcement and the military, and as doctors and nurses in the field, women have stepped up and served when called upon.

While World War I raged on the Western Front, the Tlinget women of Yakutat organized into their own Red Cross chapter, determined to aid the war effort despite rampant discrimination on the home front. When the Constitutional Convention Committee met, five women sat on the committee to bring Alaska into statehood. Bettye Davis, longtime Anchorage school board member and the first African American to be elected to the State Senate, dedicated her life to improving the lives of her constituents, advocating for school funding and aiding in the reestablishment of the Alaska Commission on the Status of Women. In 2002, the first woman in Alaska was appointed to the United States Senate, and in 2006 Alaska saw its first female governor.

Countless women have sat on councils, and they continue to participate in the important decisions of their communities, protect and serve their interests, and ensure prosperity for future Alaskans.

As a community off the road system, we know many of you are unable to visit the Andrew P. Kashevaroff building in person to see our new exhibit. That's why we wanted to make sure we could bring it to you here as a digital exhibit. However we'd like to give you the opportunity to view the original exhibit as it is in its physical form: eleven banners. We've uploaded the images of the full banners to this page:  https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/fac24276bb044acebc761111bb229c1e 

Please note the banner images are proofs and are missing some information, if you are able please take a minute to stop by our building at 395 Whittier Street to see the final product!

If you're interested in learning more about the women who have shaped Alaska check out a few of the following resources available through the Alaska State Library:

•  Boots, bikes, and bombers : adventures of Alaska conservationist Ginny Hill Wood  by Ginny Wood
•  Alaska women in the Iditarod  by Peg Stout
•  Storm Run : the story of the first woman to win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race  by Libby Riddles
•  Wildcat women: narratives of the women breaking ground in Alaska's oil and gas industry  by Carla Williams
•  Women pilots of Alaska: 37 interviews and profiles  by Sandi Sumner
•  The entangling net: Alaska's commercial fishing women tell their lives  by Leslie Leyland Fields
•  Two old women: an Alaska legend of betrayal, courage, and survival  by Velma Wallis
•  In sisterhood: the history of Camp 2 of the Alaska Native Sisterhood  edited by Kimberly L. Metcalfe
•  Two women in the Klondike; the story of a journey to the gold-fields  of Alaska by Mary E. Hitchcock
•  More than petticoats. Remarkable Alaska women  by Cherry Lyon Jones
•  Women who braved the far North : 200 years of Alaskan women  by H. Wendy Jones
•  The Women of Alaska: a compilation of interviews  produced by the Anchorage School District
•  Alaska women's history resource booklet  by Libby Roderick
•  Alaska women write: living, laughing, and loving on the Last Frontier  edited by Dana Stabenow
•  Profiles in change: names, notes and quotes for Alaskan women  by Ginna Brelsford
• For primary sources on Alaska's women visit the  State Library Historical Collections catalog  or the  Alaska State Archives catalog .