Anna Moore Shaw 1898-1976
Anna Shaw was a Pima woman from the Gila Indian Reservation. Her father converted to Christianity when she was 10, and at that point she was immersed in Anglo culture. She had to quickly learn English...
View ArticleElizabeth Shannon 1906-1985
Elizabeth studied education, history, political science and physical education at the University of Arizona. She made these fields of study her focus after graduation, when she began teaching. She...
View ArticleElsie Toles 1888-1957
Elsie Toles was Arizona’s first woman superintendent of education. As superintendent she was automatically a member of five boards, including the State Parole Board. As a woman board member, many death...
View ArticleLouisa Wetherill 1877-1945
Louise Wetherill and her family moved to a trading post near the Navajo reservation. Although she was not trained as an ethnologist, she became a known expert on Navajo culture. She was a popular...
View ArticleMaria Urquides 1908-1994
Maria Urquides grew up in a diverse neighborhood in Tucson where she understood the need for bilingual teachers. After earning her Master’s degree in education from the University of Arizona, she...
View ArticleClara Lee Tanner 1905-1997
Clara Lee Tanner was a specialist in Arizona’s archaeology and cultural anthropology. She was the authority on Indians of the Southwest and helped people understand the history of the many different...
View ArticleClara T. Woody 1885-1981
Clara Woody was interested in Arizona’s pioneer history and was asked to write a history of Globe and Miami in Gila County. She did so through collecting oral histories, photographs and artifacts....
View ArticlePolingaysi Qoyawayma 1892-1990
Polingaysi Qoyawayma grew up in a Hopi village during a time of incredible change. While most of her family wanted to live traditionally, Polingaysi left to adopt a new way of life. She left her family...
View ArticleMary Elizabeth Post 1841-1934
Mary Elizabeth Post was a private tutor in New York before she moved westward, eventually settling in Yuma. In Yuma she became a schoolteacher where all of her students only spoke Spanish. While she...
View ArticleElizabeth S. Oldaker 1884-1975
Elizabeth Oldaker was appointed by the Daughters of the American Revolution to preserve Arizona’s history and treasures from prehistoric to modern times. There was no museum for her to put her...
View ArticleMinna Vrang Orme 1892-1970
Minne and her husband, Charles Orme, were both Stanford graduates who settled in Phoenix and eventually Ash Creek as ranchers. They established a school on their ranch with the approval of the nearby...
View ArticleRuth Reinhold 1902-1985
Ruth Reinhold was one of the first woman pilots in Arizona. She met her second husband, Robert Reinhold, while working at the Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix as a charter pilot, airplane vendor and...
View ArticleSister Clara Otero 1850-1905
Gabriella Martinez Otero was a young woman when many changes happened to her home. She saw the purchase of southern Arizona from Mexico and met the first six nuns to settle in Tucson. The nuns’...
View ArticleThamar Richey 1858-1937
Thamar Richey came to Arizona in 1919, at age sixty-one. Four years later she started a school for Pascua Yaqui children. She did not know the Yaqui language, but many of the children knew Spanish....
View ArticleMary V. Riley 1908-1987
Mary Riley was a White Mountain Apache who devoted her life to improving conditions for her tribe. She became the first woman elected to the tribal council in 1958. She is credited for bringing the...
View ArticlePolly Rosenbaum 1899-2003
Polly Rosenbaum remains Arizona’s longest serving legislator, serving in the House of Representatives from 1949 until 1994. She reined in finances, supported education and libraries, and funded...
View ArticleJane H. Rider 1889-1981
Jane Rider devoted herself to the health of Arizonans for over 50 years. She helped publicize sanitation problems in Arizona’s water and to prove the link between infant mortality and unpasteurized...
View ArticleIda Redbird 1892-1971
Ida Redbird was a master potter of the Maricopa tribe. Ida helped revive Maricopa pottery and was known for using the ancient paddle and anvil technique of potting. She fought to raise awareness of...
View ArticleWinona E. Montgomery 1898-1990
Winona Montgomery taught in Phoenix for 40 years before she became a champion for senior citizens. She was also involved with professional and social organizations, supported the educational television...
View ArticleFrances Lillian Willard Munds 1866-1948
Frances Munds was a grandmother actively involved in women’s suffrage organizations. In 1915, three years after she helped women win the right to vote in Arizona, she became the first woman senator in...
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