Background
Her father, Kaachgaawáa, was the head of the Tlingit crow clan, while her mother, Gus’dutéen, was a member of the Tagish wolf clan.
Her father, Kaachgaawáa, was the head of the Tlingit crow clan, while her mother, Gus’dutéen, was a member of the Tagish wolf clan.
Her name in Tlingit means "gumboot mother". She became Carmack"s common-law wife within the year. She took the name Kate Carmack.
Beginning in 1889, and for the next six years, the couple lived in the Forty Mile region.
Carmack prospected, trapped, and traded, while Shaaw Tláa made winter clothing that she sold to miners. They had one daughter, Graphie Grace Carmack (born 1893, Fort Selkirk).
The party then discovered gold in Rabbit Creek (later renamed Bonanza Creek), setting in motion the Klondike Gold Rush. Some accounts claim that Kate made the actual discovery.
After becoming wealthy, the Carmacks moved to Hollister, California, to live with Carmack"s sister, Rose Watson (later Rose Curtis).
Subsequently, Carmack left California, Kate, Graphie, and his former partners. Kate and Graphie stayed with Rose. Carmack married Marguerite Laimee in 1900, in Olympia, Washington.
Kate, unable to prove she was Carmack"s lawful wife, entitled to alimony, returned to Carcross in July.
She died of influenza during the Worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918-1920 in Carcross.