Hannah Paul Solomon (; October 10, 1908Solomon's birth year is variously given as 1908, 1909, and 1910 in sources, and she was adopted as a baby, which complicates the dating. Her obituaries gave 1908 as the date. Her marriage license in 1927 (from Ancestry.com) was signed by her mother because she was a minor under 18 years old, which might suggest a later year. – September 16, 2011) was an American community leader and artist. She was the first female mayor of

Fort Yukon, Alaska Fort Yukon (''Gwichyaa Zheh'' in Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle. The population, predominantly Gwich'in Alaska Natives, was 583 at the 2010 census, down from 59 ...

, helped organize the Fairbanks Native Association, and was 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 2012. Her traditional

beadwork Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread or thin wire with a sewing or beading needle or sewing them to cloth. Beads are produced in a diverse range of materials, shapes, and sizes, and vary b ...

is in the collections of several museums.

Early life

She was born in

Rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

, a village on the

Porcupine River The Porcupine River (''Ch’ôonjik'' in Gwich’in) is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada and the United States. It rises in the Ogilvie Mountains north of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. From there it flows north through the community of ...

, near the Canadian-Alaskan border. Her first language was Gwich'in. She was adopted by older

Athabascan Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific Co ...

parents, Mardow and Eliza Mardow. She attended a one-room school run by the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

in Fort Yukon.

Career

Solomon helped to organize the Fairbanks Native Association and the Fairbanks Native Community Center, along with her longtime friend

Poldine Carlo Poldine Demoski Carlo (December 5, 1920 – May 9, 2018) was an American author and an elder of the Koyukon Alaskan Athabaskans, native people of Alaska. Born in Nulato, Territory of Alaska, Carlo was a founding member of the Fairbanks Native ...

and others. She served on the board of directors of the Gwichyaa Zhee Corporation. She was active in other organizations, including Doyon Limited,

Tanana Chiefs Conference Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), the traditional tribal consortium of the 42 villages of Interior Alaska, is based on a belief in tribal self-determination and the need for regional Native unity. TCC is a non-profit organization that works toward ...

and the

Alaska Federation of Natives The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) is the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska. Its membership includes 178 villages (both federally recognized tribes and village corporations), thirteen regional native corporations, and twelve re ...

. She served in the first city council of Fort Yukon in 1960, and was the first woman to be elected mayor of the city. In 1991 she gave an oral history interview to the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for cla ...

Rasmuson Library's Oral History Collection. She was inducted into the

in 2012. Solomon was known for her traditional

. "When I was young we had nothing to do when we got home from school so I learned to sew," she explained in 1965. In 1967, she demonstrated beadwork as part of the "Native Village" exhibit at the Alaska 67 Centennial Exposition. Beadwork items made by Solomon are in the collections of the Rasmuson Museum in Anchorage and the

Alaska Native Medical Center The Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) is a non-profit health center based in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, which provides medical services to 158,000 Alaska Natives and other Native Americans in Alaska. It acts as both the secondary and ...

, among other institutions. A video about Solomon's art was shown at the

Sheldon Jackson Museum Sheldon Jackson College (SJC) was a small private college located on Baranof Island in Sitka, Alaska, United States. Founded in 1878, it was the oldest institution of higher learning in Alaska and maintained a historic relationship with the Pres ...

in 1988 and 1990.

Personal life and legacy

Mardow married Paul Solomon, a

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

and

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

, in 1927. They had 14 children together, including activist

Jonathon Solomon Jonathon Solomon (March 10, 1932 – July 13, 2006) was a native Gwich'in from Fort Yukon, Alaska, USA, and a member of the U.S. delegation to the International Porcupine Caribou Agreement between Canada and U.S. He served as the Traditional Ch ...

. She was widowed when her husband died in 1973. She died in 2011, aged 102, at her home in Fairbanks. There is a Hannah Paul Solomon “Woman of Courage” Award given annually by the Fairbanks Native Association.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Hannah Paul 1908 births 2011 deaths Alaska Native activists Alaskan Athabaskan people American centenarians Women centenarians Gwich'in people People from Fort Yukon, Alaska Women mayors of places in Alaska 21st-century American women Native American bead artists 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native Americans Women beadworkers Artists from Alaska