ATHABASCAN WEAVER/MAYOR HANNAH SOLOMON DIED
Born in Old Rampart, Alaska (AK) on October 10, 1908, Hannah, while married and living a traditional subsistence lifestyle in Fort Yukon, AK, helped incorporate the city and create a school board before becoming its 1st female mayor. An advocate of education for AN youths, Solomon also spoke fluent Gwich’in and taught her children to speak it. Moving to Fairbanks in 1965, she helped create the Fairbanks Native Association (FNA) and worked to develop FNA programs for the elderly. Hannah attended the initial meetings of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Doyon Ltd., and Tanana Chiefs Conference. Her beadwork, learned from her mother, is in the Smithsonian Institution, University of AK Fairbanks (UAF) Museum of the North, Doyon headquarters, Anchorage Museum, and AN Medical Center in Anchorage. Awards: Governor’s Native Arts Award (2000); UAF Elder in Residence; Pioneer of the Month, North Star Borough; and Doyon Shareholder of the Year.
Sources:
“Hannah Solomon,” Alaska Women's Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 11/11/2023, Hannah Solomon | Alaska Women's Hall Of Fame (alaskawomenshalloffame.org)
Photo: Courtesy of the Alaska Women's Hall Of Fame.
Indigenous America Calendar 