The Friends of the Seaside Library welcome Deb Vanasse, author of Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Rush for Gold. Known as the “wealthiest Indian in America”, Kate Carmack played a pivotal role in the rush for Klondike gold. She was vilified. She was romanticized. Her life story is one of magnificent heroism and terrible tragedy.

As a young widow who lost her husband and baby to an epidemic, Shaaw Tlaa was given in marriage by her isolated Athabascan tribe to prospector George Carmack, who renamed her Kate. After a decade of wandering the northern wilderness with her husband, Kate became legendary and controversial. Although George Carmack was credited with discovering the nugget that sparked the Klondike Gold Rush, legends persist that Kate herself actually triggered the biggest gold stampede in American History. Kate met the key figures in Klondike history, made headlines, and was abandoned at a California ranch, where she fought for her wealth, her reputation, and her survival.

Vanasse unfolds this fascinating tale tale through a combination of correspondence, legal proceedings, ethnographic study, and the generosity of Tagish-Tlingit relatives.