-Shyler Umphenour
Sinrock Mary, Queen of the Reindeer, one of the territory’s first Native businesswomen.
Changunak Antisarlook, her formal name, was born in 1870. Her father was Russian. Her mom Inupiaq.
The family settled in St. Michael, a bustling village overlooking the mouth of the mighty Yukon. At 19-years-old, Mary got hitched and moved with her husband Charles Anitsarlook to Cape Nome.
That's where the pair met Captain Michael Healy, famed commander of the Bear. With her broad command of local Indigenous languages and Russian, Mary became the captain’s translator!
Among Captain Healy’s many firsts, he introduced Siberian reindeer to Alaska. Not only did Mary's husband became a herder, before long, the couple were the first to own a reindeer herd.
Sadly, Charles died not long after, succumbing to the territory’s 1900 measles epidemic. Being a woman, Mary lost control of the herd.
The young widow did not surrender. “Sinrock Mary,” as she became known, fought and regained half of that herd.
The Queen of Reindeer found a new market, selling meat to the U.S. Army. Over time, becoming one of the wealthiest women in Alaska
After ongoing turmoil with the Alaska gold strikes, for the safety of her business as well as herself in 1901, Alaska's reindeer queen relocated to Unalakleet. She would spend the rest of her life helping her community with her own herd.