On March 14, 2013 at 3 p.m. at the Carnegie Center, 1101 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007, five remarkable women will be inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame. Following the induction ceremony dedicated to the memory of Sharon Womack, Director of the Arizona State Archives 1979-1992, there will be a reception with light refreshments and guests will be able to view the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame exhibit, featuring a series of custom made quilts created by the Arizona Quilter’s Guild and the Phoenix Quilter’s Association. Please join us to honor these amazing women. Learn of their lives and celebrate their achievements on March 14 at the Carnegie Center.
The 2012 Inductees:
Jean Chaudhuri, 1937-1997
Jean Chaudhuri was an Indian activist, author and storyteller. As founder and President of the Arizona Indian Women in Progress (IWP), Jean built an inter-tribal network of Indian women on and off the reservation that were influential in articulating issues of cultural survival in key areas of resources, education and the arts. In 1986 she founded and co-chaired the Native American Heritage Preservation Coalition, and fought to prevent a land swap of the BIA Phoenix Indian School for a private developer’s swampland in Florida. Through her leadership and the work of many others, a part of the Indian School land was preserved for public use.
Rose E. Collom, 1870-1956
At a time when there were few acknowledged female botanists of note, Rose E. Collom became a respected authority in the native plants of Arizona. Her organization, the Arizona Cactus and Native Flora Society, founded the Desert Botanical Garden in 1937. Although self-taught, she was the Grand Canyon National Park’s first botanist from 1939 until 1954. She collected and contributed hundreds of plant specimens to the U.S. National Herbarium and other institutions to further the study of Arizona’s flora.
Dorothy Elaine Powell, 1921-2003
Dorothy Elaine Powell’s was a community and social activist as well as a tireless advocate for the elderly, including issues of health, education and age discrimination. In 1985, Governor Bruce Babbit appointed her a member and then chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging. Governor’s Mofford and Symington reappointed her in1988 and 1991. She served on the ad hoc committee that wrote the Older American Act for Arizona, and was reappointed once more to the Governor’s Advisory council on Aging in 1993 by Governor Hull. Dorothy was the longest serving member on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging.
Helen Sekaquaptewa, 1898-1990
Helen Sekaquaptewa, whose Hopi name was Dowanawisnima, was born in Old Oraibi in 1898 during a turbulent period in Hopi history. Although her family was part of a Hopi faction called the Hostiles, those opposed to the white man’s way of life, Helen built a bridge between the two worlds. Her life story, Me and Mine records many of the traditions and changes in the Hopi way of life in the first half of the twentieth century and her own struggles for acceptance by her village. She became the matriarch of the Eagle Clan and through her book gained a central place in Hopi society.
Jacque Yelland Steiner, 1929-2003
Jacque Yelland Steiner was instrumental in many legislative, budgetary and operational advancements for Arizona’s children, tackling such complex issues as child abuse and neglect, foster care, adolescent issues, juvenile justice reform and overall budget and policy issues in the children and family service delivery system. She served in the Legislature from 1976-1990. In 1988 she co-founded the Children’s Action Alliance (CAA), a non-profit research, education and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of Arizona’s children and families.
The Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame program pays tribute posthumously, and honors in perpetuity, the remarkable women whose contributions to the arts, athletics, business, education, government, the humanities, philanthropy and science, have played a significant role in the history of Arizona and provide a significant contribution to the historical record of the State of Arizona. Currently, 84 women have been inducted. Women are inducted into the Hall of Fame every two years. To learn more about all the women in the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame, visit the website at www.azlibrary.gov/azwhf.
A coalition serves as the participating sponsors for the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame, including the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records; the Arizona Historical Society; the Sharlot Hall Museum, the Governor’s Office for Women, and the Arizona Humanities Council.
The 2013 Induction Ceremony and other AzWHF projects are supported in part, by a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities through the We the People American History Grant Program.