Dove Kull (1897-1991) was a social worker from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. After a 37-year career in Oklahoma, serving as second-in-command of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

and later designing the Oklahoma Department of Public Welfare's adoption policies, Kull moved to Alaska and became the first social worker to administer service to Native Alaskans in the Aleutian Islands. She also secured the funds for the first child care center in Alaska and directed the first home-health service for the elderly in the State. She was posthumously inducted into the

Alaska Women's Hall of Fame The Alaska Women's Hall of Fame (AWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Alaska for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. It was conceived by the board of directors of the Alaska Women's Network (AWN) i ...

in 2015.

Biography

Alice Montgomery was born on May 17, 1897 near Perry in the

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

and was raised in Oklahoma. After completion of her secondary education, Montgomery enrolled in the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

(OU), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1922. Between 1922 and 1923, she worked as a newspaper editor of the society and feature pages and then began teaching English at

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High School in 1923. In 1925, Montgomery married Alexander E. Kull, left Fairfax Schools in 1926, and in 1927 obtained a Master's in English from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Kull began a career in social work, working at various state and federal positions. During the Dust Bowl she served as second-in-command of the Oklahoma branch of the federal

. She was instrumental in developing the state adoption protocols at the Oklahoma Department of Public Welfare, worked at a state mental health hospital, and taught between 1933 and 1935 at Oklahoma City University. In 1940, Kull returned to school, earning her master's degree in Social Work from OU. After her husband's death in 1953, Kull left public service and began working with the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

until 1959. In 1959, after 37 years of service in Oklahoma, Kull moved to Alaska. She was hired by the Department of Health and Welfare in

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

to help in preparation for statehood to plan social services for Alaskan Athabaskans and homesteaders of south central Alaska. Governor

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sent her to the

Pribilof Islands The Pribilof Islands (formerly the Northern Fur Seal Islands; ale, Amiq, russian: Острова Прибылова, Ostrova Pribylova) are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of ...

with a directive to help the Native Alakans there transition to federal citizenship. She was the first social worker to attend the needs of peoples living in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

. In 1961, she transferred from Anchorage to

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

and was promoted to Child Welfare Supervisor. She secured the federal funds for the first accredited child care facility in the state, which was established in Juneau. She left the service of the State in 1967, moved to

Kotzebue Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the County seat, borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska en ...

and began working with the US Public Health Services Department to provide health services to native Alaskan villages in the

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. After 2 years, she returned to Juneau and established the first accredited home-health service in Alaska, Alaska Homemaker Services, to help the elder community remain in their homes as long as it was feasible. Kull worked with Homemaker until the mid 1970s and in 1976 was appointed to a state Senior Housing Committee. As part of the committee, she was pivotal in attaining senior housing in Juneau and establishing the Older Alaskan's Commission in 1981, serving three terms on the Commission. In addition, she was part of the Planning Committee of the White House Conference on Aging and a representative to the State committee on Services to the Elderly. Kull retired in 1983 but continued her lobbying for women's rights, children's issues, and native rights. Kull died on December 8, 1991, in Juneau, Alaska. Posthumously, she was inducted into the

in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kull, Dove 1897 births 1991 deaths American social workers Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Juneau, Alaska) American children's rights activists American elder rights activists Indigenous rights activists People from Anchorage, Alaska People from Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska People from Perry, Oklahoma Women in Alaska Women in Oklahoma American women's rights activists 20th-century American women 20th-century American people