AUGUST 7, 1933

TLINGIT EDUCATION/HEALTH ADVOCATE GERTRUDE (PAULL) WOLFE BORN

Gertrude, born in Sitka, Alaska (AK), moved with her husband to Hoonah, AK, in 1954. The town of 750 people, half Tlingit, is accessible only by boat or plane. Residents there depend mostly on subsistence hunting and fishing. Upon arriving there, Wolfe served informally as a health aide before becoming one of the first Certified Health Aide Provider’s in AK. She was a member of the town’s School Board and on the boards of local and regional Native health corporations. With the AK Native Sisterhood, she served as Grand President. Wolfe was instrumental in starting the Southeast AK Regional Health Consortium in 1975, serving Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people by promoting healthy lifestyles. Retiring in 1988, Wolfe continued to engage in civic activities in Hoonah, Sitka, and Juneau. In 2007, the AK Legislature passed a proclamation honoring her. Halls of Fame: Sheldon Jackson School (2007) and AK Women’s (2014). A Hoonah medical center wing is now the Trudy Wolfe Clinic. Wolfe died in 2007.

Source: “Gertrude Wolfe,” Alaska Women's Hall Of Fame.  Retrieved 10/10/2023, Gertrude Wolfe | Alaska Women's Hall Of Fame (alaskawomenshalloffame.org)

Photo:  Courtesy of Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame