Dorothy Awes Haaland (October 3, 1918 – February 23, 1996 ) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and politician. She served in the final Alaska Territorial Legislature when

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

was still the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an Organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The ...

. In 2009, she was added to 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) ...

. She was the first woman to be admitted to the

Alaska Bar Association The Alaska Bar Association (ABA) is a mandatory bar association responsible for the Alaska Supreme Court and for the admission and discipline process of attorneys for the state of Alaska. Governance The association is governed by a Board of ...

Early life and education

Dorothy Awes was born in 1918 in

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moo ...

. She attended the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. History The law school was founded in 1865 by George Grover Wright and Chester C. Cole as an independent la ...

and received her degree from there. In 1945, she moved to

, when she was working for the

Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money ( price con ...

Career

In 1946, she started working in

Cordova, Alaska Cordova ( ) is a port city in Chugach Census Area, Alaska, United States. It lies near the mouth of the Copper River, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. The population was 2,609 at the 2020 census, up from 2 ...

as Justice of the Peace and a

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

. She served in that position until 1948. She relocated to

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

and ran a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

from 1950 until 1955. That year, she served as a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United S ...

at the Alaska Constitutional Convention, alongside Helen Fischer. In 1956, she married Ragnar Haaland. In 1957 she served one term in, and the final year of, the Alaska Territorial Legislature. She became assistant

Alaska Attorney General The Alaska Attorney General is the chief legal advisor to the Government of Alaska, government of the State of Alaska and to its List of Governors of Alaska, governor. The Attorney General is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska L ...

in 1960. She retired in 1976. Haaland co-founded the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

chapter in Anchorage. She served on the board of the Women's Resource Center and was president of

St. Joan's International Alliance St. Joan's International Alliance is a non profit women's organization, women's organisation. St. Joan's is a feminist Catholic organisation, with a focus on women's equality. It is named after St. Joan of Arc. The organisation has played a major r ...

Later life and legacy

Haaland recorded an

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

regarding Alaska statehood in 1981. It resides in the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

. In 1984, she was honored alongside Alaska statehood founders, including

Robert Atwood Robert Bruce Atwood (March 31, 1907 – January 10, 1997) was an American journalist who served as the long-time editor and publisher of the '' Anchorage Times.'' He was also an early advocate of Alaska statehood. Biography Robert Bruce Atwo ...

, and fellow delegates at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Around 1994, she suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and moved to

Bothell, Washington Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington in the Eastside region. It had a population of 48,161 reside ...

, to live with her son. She died at a hospital in

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in King County and the twelfth largest city in the state of Washington. ...

, on March 1, 1996. In 2009, Haaland was placed in the

References

External links

Dorothy Awes
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Haaland, Dorothy Awes 1918 births 1996 deaths Alaska lawyers Delegates to Alaska's Constitutional Convention Members of the Alaska Territorial Legislature National Organization for Women people People from Cordova, Alaska People from Moorhead, Minnesota People from Bothell, Washington People from the Territory of Alaska University of Iowa College of Law alumni Women territorial legislators in Alaska 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American women lawyers

Early life and education

Career

Later life and legacy

See also

References

External links