Mary Jane Fate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Jane Fate
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Fate in 2014
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| Born |
Mary Jane Evans
September 4, 1933 |
| Died | April 10, 2020 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Native American activist |
| Years active | 1962–2020 |
| Spouse(s) |
Hugh Fate
(m. 1954) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Dan Sullivan (son-in-law) |
Mary Jane Fate (born Evans; September 4, 1933 – April 10, 2020) was a strong leader and activist for Koyukon Athabascan people. She helped start important groups like the Fairbanks Native Association and the Institute of Alaska Native Arts. Mary Jane also worked to help pass the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which gave land and money to Native Alaskans.
She was a co-founder of the Tundra Times newspaper. This newspaper was the first one written by and for Native Alaskans. For more than 20 years, she served on the board of directors for Alaska Airlines. Mary Jane Fate was the first woman to be a co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives (from 1988 to 1989). She also helped start the North American Indian Women's Association and was its third president. She received many awards for her work helping Native Americans. In 2014, she was added to the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mary Jane Evans was born in 1933 in a place called Rampart. This was in the Territory of Alaska at the time. Her parents were Sally Woods and Thomas George Evans, Jr. Her father worked as a trapper and delivered mail.
After finishing her early schooling, Mary Jane went to Mount Edgecumbe Boarding School in Sitka. She graduated from there in 1952. She then studied accounting at the University of Alaska. To pay for her studies, she also worked at Wien Alaska Airlines.
On October 29, 1954, she married Hugh Fate, Jr. He later became a dentist and also worked to protect Native American rights. Mary Jane and Hugh had three daughters: Janine, Jennifer, and Julie. Their daughter Julie later married Dan Sullivan, who became a United States Senator for Alaska.
Working for Native Alaskans
After she got married, Mary Jane Fate went back to work at Wien Alaska Airlines. She and her husband were among the first people to start the Fairbanks Native Association in 1962 and 1963. Around the same time, she got involved with the Tundra Times newspaper. This newspaper was very important because it was the first news source created by and for Native Alaskans. It helped inform the community and also told leaders in Alaska's government about important issues for Native people. Mary Jane was on the newspaper's executive board and also worked as its secretary.
Improving Education
Mary Jane Fate saw that Native Alaskans had limited chances for good education. So, in 1962, she joined the Fairbanks Native Association's education committee. She worked on a six-year study to find out why education in Alaska was not good enough.
Mary Jane spoke at a state government meeting about their findings. She showed that most students in rural areas either didn't go to high school or went to schools that were far away and not very good. The committee pushed for new dorms to be built in cities. This would allow students from rural areas to live there and attend high schools.
She also helped with the Native Alaskan Village for the Alaska 67 Centennial Exposition. She worked with the Hospital Foundation of Fairbanks too. Later, she became involved in the Alaska Native claims settlement.
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was a very important law. For the first time, it gave Native villages both land and money. This money could be used to invest in things like education. The settlement gave 44 million acres of land and $962.5 million. This money helped Native Alaskans create twelve regional corporations to manage these new assets.
Mary Jane Fate became the president of the Rampart Village Corporation. This was one of the regional groups created in 1971. She worked hard to make sure that Native people signed up to share in the benefits of this settlement.
Supporting Native Women
Mary Jane Fate was one of the people who started the North American Indian Women's Association (NAIWA). This group was formed in 1970 in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was the first national group of Native American women to organize and work together. In 1975, Mary Jane became the third president of NAIWA. She served in this role until 1977.
She also cared a lot about the health of Native Alaskans. In the 1970s, she spoke at meetings about health problems. In 1975, she helped start a Breast Cancer Detection Center in Fairbanks. In 1977, she led a federal program called Special Needs of Handicapped Indian Children and Indian Women's Problems. This program collected information about child abuse, nutrition, physical and mental disabilities, single parents, and violence against women. It also looked at how well social services were helping with these issues.
In 1978, she took part in a national meeting in Washington, D.C., for Rural American Women Inc. This meeting discussed problems faced by women, especially those living in rural areas who might feel isolated or lack services.
Leadership and Recognition
In 1981, Mary Jane Fate was chosen to serve on the Alaska Judicial Council. She served there until 1987. Between 1988 and 1989, she was elected as a co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives with Henry Ivanoff. She was the first woman to hold this important position.
In 1990, she was named to the Alaska Natives Commission. Two years later, she was elected co-chair of this commission with Perry Eaton. The commission's goal was to study how the government worked with Native populations and suggest better ways to do so. In 1991, Mary Jane helped the team for the new governor, Wally Hickel. In 1993, she was chosen to serve on the Board of Regents for the University of Alaska.
In 1998, Mary Jane Fate received a national Cancer Awareness Award for her work in health care. In 2001, President George H. W. Bush appointed her to the United States Arctic Research Commission. This commission worked to set national science policy for the Arctic region. Mary Jane was the only Native American member on the commission during her time, which lasted until 2006.
In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed her to the U.S. Census Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native Populations. In 2012, the Alaska Federation of Natives honored Mary Jane Fate with two President's Awards. She received both the Public Service Award and the Citizen of the Year Award, which is the highest honor they give. She was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.
