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Sinrock Mary was a strong-willed businesswoman and interpreter. With her facility for English and Russian, she was instrumental in brokering a deal between Americans and Russian reindeer herders to bring reindeer from Siberia; the goal was to teach Alaska Native hunters to become herders and secure predictable food.
She and her husband were given 500 reindeer, and when he died during the measles epidemic of 1900, she used “white man’s law” to retain ownership of her herd, which would have gone to her husband’s family. Sinrock Mary became the wealthiest woman in Alaska, selling meat to the U.S. Army.
– Eve Lederman, The 100 Companies