Danielle Vancouver, British Columbia

Fair address: Vancouver Heritage Fair

Project: Women of the Klondike Gold Rush

My project is meant to show that the Klondike Gold Rush had an impact on women’s roles in Canada. The Klondike Gold Rush is typically seen as men mining in the gold fields. But, I decided to dig a bit deeper and learn more about the role of women in this event. My project shows that women can be more than housewives and that self image can change your future. These women learned about themselves during the Gold Rush. This gave them the confidence to go beyond their roles in society to follow their dreams. These women helped create a world where I am able to do what I can do today. To test this I used Martha Munger Black as a case study. She was a Klondike Gold Rush participant who opened businesses and became the second woman elected to the Canadian House of Commons after the Klondike Gold Rush. She shows that these women continued to be independent after the Klondike Gold Rush That is why I decided to honour these women in my heritage fair project.

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?

The most interesting thing I learned about my topic is that women actually went to the Klondike Gold Rush. When I was first searching for my topic I knew I wanted to focus on women’s rights in a way that I haven’t seen before, like the vote. I never saw pictures or articles about women in the Klondike Gold Rush , so when I found the topic, I knew I needed to do my project on it. Those women aren’t represented near as much as men so it interested me that they attended and had an impact on this event.

What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?

That no matter what anyone says, you can always do whatever you set your mind to. These women decided that they were going to make a change for themselves, and they never gave up. The events that are not noticed as much for women like the Klondike Gold Rush are still extremely important because they boosted those women’s self esteems. Even though these women are not noticed as much,I feel it is extremely important to share to other Canadians that they went to the gold fields as overworked,under educated housewives and came out as women who were ready to make a change.

How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?

The life of those women were completely different from mine. Those women would cook,clean,do laundry, and take care of the children. They were not able go to university, have a medium to high paying job, or vote. These are all rights that I was provided the second I was born when I came of age. Those women decided to make a change so generations like mine were able to do these things. I am extremely grateful that those women decided to do what they did and allowed me to live the life I am living right now.