A group of prospectors that included Shaaw Tláa, along with her brothers and common-law husband, discovered gold in the Klondike in 1896. She was the first of many women who became part of gold rush history. Others made their way north to take advantage of the gold rush for riches, freedom, and adventure in a time where few women had control over their own lives.
Without Shaaw Tláa there would be no Klondike Gold Rush, and of course, no Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. In 1896, Tláa, a Native American woman also known as Kate Carmack, was traversing remote lands in Canada when her team discovered gold at Rabbit Creek. This event acted as the catalyst for what would become one of the largest gold rushes in American history.
Other women made their way to the Klondike and made a fortune providing goods and services to the gold miners or as journalists chronicling their adventures. Read about five such pioneering women at Attn.