About Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold
The year was 1897, and Portland was in a frenzy. "According to the prevailing excitement, there is only one place on earth and that is the Klondike," wrote a reporter for The Oregonian. The mad rush for gold forever changed the Pacific Northwest. But the impact on the Native peoples in and around the Klondike was even more profound.
Nowhere is that story more compellingly conveyed than in the life of Kate Carmack, first named Shaaw Tláa, the First Nations woman who played a pivotal role in the Klondike discovery. Deb Vanasse, author of Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold, shares the history-making account of a woman whose legacy is finally being recognized. Zena McLean, a direct descendant of Kate Carmack, will share her perspective and experiences in the Yukon. Read more about Kate Carmack here.
About the Presenters:
Deb Vanasse is an award-winning author of nonfiction and historical novels, including Wealth Woman. She is a historian and co-founder of the Alaska statewide writing center, 49 Writers. She currently lives on the Oregon coast and her latest book, Roar of the Sea, is an Oregon Book Award finalist.
Zena McLean is a citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation and a direct descendant of Kate Carmack. Zena's Chilkat Tlingit heritage predates the discovery of gold in the Yukon. She works for the Parks Canada Field Unit on the Chilkoot Trail, the trail of her ancestors. Zena is on the Yukon Heritage Resources Board, Yukon Geographic Place Names Board, and the Carcross/Tagish Renewable Resources Board.
