Woman of Gold

Every tale of the Klondike gold rush of 1897-’98 begins with the discovery of gold by George Carmack and his Tagish brothers-in-law. In Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold (University of Alaska Press, $24.95), Alaska writer Deb Vanasse retells this iconic Yukon legend through the perspective of Shaaw Tláa, Carmack’s Indian wife. In doing so, she lends a voice to the women who served as an important bridge between native peoples and those who exploited the North’s min