This year, Wyoming celebrates its 150th anniversary of women’s suffrage. We spoke with a photographer celebrating the event and rounded up ways you can join in the festivities on your next visit.
On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted American women the right to vote. Women had been fighting for this right on a national level since 1848, when Elizabeth Cody Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the Seneca Falls Convention and made the right to vote a central part of the women’s rights movement. Thanks to Susan B. Anthony and many others, some states eventually granted women the right to vote and finally the federal government followed suit.
But did you know that by the time the 19th Amendment was ratified, women in Wyoming had already been casting ballots for more than 50 years? Wyoming was the first in the nation to allow an unconditional women suffrage–regardless of marriage status, property ownership or anything else. The Wyoming Women’s Suffrage Act, passed on December 10, 1869, went even further than voting though. It allowed women to hold all public offices. In 1860, another act was passed that allowed women to own and inherit property in their own right, hold guardianship over minor children, and guaranteed women teachers the same salary as men. Wyoming was the first territory to enter the union with suffrage intact, and also the only territory or state to never repeal a suffrage act. Talk about progressive.
Women In Wyoming
We spoke with Lindsay Linton Buk, the photographer behind the Women In Wyoming exhibit at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West museum, the only Smithsonian-accredited museum in the state. The exhibit tells “inspiring stories of contemporary Wyoming women through art and media, celebrating their achievements, power, and learned wisdom.”
Buk, who is a full-time photographer in Jackson, Wyoming, launched this series in fall of 2017 with five online profiles and a podcast. It has grown from there and by the time it finishes in 2020 will include five chapters of five women each. The first chapter, Breaking Boundaries, highlighted women who had been “firsts” in the state.
“In the first stage, most of the women were a little more well known,” says Buk. “They were women I had heard of or who were iconic in Wyoming and I was energized to know. I heard about a woman painting large 10 x 30-foot canvases outside her ranch and thought I had to meet her. She’s in her 80s. Anyone painting at that scale… it’s such a feat, to be loud and be bold,” she says, referring to artist Neltje.
Others in the first chapter include Marilyn Kite, Wyoming’s first State Supreme Court justice; Affie Ellis; Wyoming’s first Native American State Senator; Nimi and Nina McConigley, the first woman of color in the United States to run a television news station and the first Indian-born person in the United States to be elected to state government and her daughter; and Clarene Law, a local businesswoman. “She’s essentially considered the matriarch of the tourism industry here,” Buk says. “These were well known names and women who would have an amazing story to share. They came from different backgrounds and parts of the state, showing depth and diversity.”
Buk grew up in the small town of Powell, Wyoming. “And quite frankly I couldn’t wait to leave,” she says. She moved to Los Angeles and New York, where she began a successful career training under famed photographers Rodney Smith and Peter Hurley. “My life was very full, creatively, artistically,” she says. But Wyoming kept pulling her back. She moved back to Jackson in 2013 and didn’t think she would stay, but after awhile started questioning her notion of Wyoming as limiting.
“I opened my business and wanted to explore that question on a deeper level–how is it possible we as people can have a full capacity of life, but particularly in Wyoming? There are some limits to being in a rural state, and this [Women In Wyoming] project was a way to explore that question. Basically, I was curious and wanted to know what my peers were doing. We are isolated and spread out, and I had a genuine curiosity to connect with and learn from other women.”
What she found was a wealth of inspiring stories from women across Wyoming, both today and in the past. “Look at all these amazing women and girls in our state,” she says. “I’m continually amazed by who I uncover through this process and feel like I’m still at the tip of the iceberg.”
Chapter Two of the project was called Filling the Void and focused on women people hadn’t necessarily heard of, like those working in industrial areas and on the Wind River Reservation. Chapter Three, called Power, launched on March 8, International Women’s Day, at the opening of the Women In Wyoming exhibit. “It’s the most ambitious to date,” Buk says, noting it has a social focus. Chapter Four will examine beings of imagination, creativity, and reinvention, and Chapter Five is called the Cowgirl State. “It’s meant to be super playful and say, okay women and girls, lets own it,” Buk says.
Visitors to the exhibit will surely learn something and walk away inspired, and creating the exhibit has had that effect on Buk as well.
“There are so many amazing stories from Wyoming pioneers throughout history, and I hope the project offers reflection of where we are now. It inspired me to take reflection in my own life–am I living my truth, doing all that I can? I want people to be inspired and energized and have that awareness,” she says. “I’ve learned about so many amazing women doing incredible things and it’s powerful to bring it together in a collective space and be able to share not just with Wyoming but the world.”
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West receives 175,00 visitors per year. If you visit Wyoming this year, be one of them and see the Women In Wyoming Exhibit for yourself.
While in the state, here are a few other ways you can pay homage to the women who paved the way:
Visit the Wyoming House For Historic Women in Laramie
On September 6, 1870, Louisa Swain became the first woman to vote under a new law giving women full equality to men. The Louisa Swain Foundation has constructed a large plaza and the Wyoming House for Historic Women just one block from where she cast her ballot. Here, you’ll learn about thirteen historic women, including Eliza Stewart, Laramie’s first school teacher and first woman to serve on a jury; Martha Symons Boies, the first woman in the world to become a bailiff; Barbara Cubin, the first woman elected to federal office from Wyoming; Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first women elected governor in the United States and the first woman director of the U.S. Mint, among others. If you visit in September, you might catch the annual reenactment of Swain’s first vote on September 6.
Stop In the Wyoming State Capitol
One of only 20 state Capitols designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Wyoming building saw history. Women’s suffrage was passed in its Supreme Court Chamber, and was upheld there again as the territory sought statehood in 1869. When Congress threatened to keep Wyoming out of the Union if it didn’t rescind the provision, the territory refused to budge, and sent these words to congressional leaders in a telegram: “We may stay out of the Union 100 years, but we will come with our women.” Congress relented, and in 1890, Wyoming formally became the 44th state and the first state to grant women the right to vote. The chamber is under restoration and will open mid-2019, providing an opportunity to visit the place where women’s suffrage took its first steps in the United States.
Have Some Fun In the Cowgirls of the West Museum in Cheyenne
This non-profit, volunteer museum is dedicated to preserving western culture & honoring the true spirit of the women who made and continue to make contributions to the west.
Celebrate at the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne
Celebrate the anniversary of women’s suffrage by visiting the state museum’s artifacts on display, including a wide variety of items representing life in Wyoming from prehistoric times to present. Make sure to check out the flag given to Wyoming as a gift when it entered the Union reading “To Wyoming From Her Women. In Honor Of The State Constitution. 1890.”
Support Women Artists at the Nicolaysen “NIC” Art Museum in Casper
This Casper museum is special because it was started by women and women still make up the board and hold key roles including Curator of Art, a role held by Amanda Yonker. A pop-up this year celebrates female artists from Wyoming throughout the year, starting with Brilliantly Bri, from artist Bri Martin. In 2020, the NIC will celebrate the “Year of the Woman” with three rotations of art and 10 female artists.
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Take a Hike With Hike Like a Woman In Laramie
This woman- owned and operated small business was founded to empower women in the outdoors, including day hikes and backpacking trips. Hike groups include locations in Wyoming and throughout the country. Sign up for a hike before your next trip and not only will you see the the gorgeous outdoors Wyoming has to offer, but also meet some inspiring women along the way.
Get In Touch With Yourself and Others at the WYLD West Women Retreat In Big Horn Mountains
From June 19th-23rd, women can discover their true nature in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming with the support of like-minded women. “There’s no better way to reconnect with and learn to trust your instincts than encountering novel experiences, so think of this as an adventure specifically designed to bring out your most powerful traits,” the retreat’s website reads. You’ll take part in adventure activities, talks, and more in a beautiful mountain setting.
Did you know? Wyoming is often referred to as the “Cowboy State,” but its true nickname is the “Equality State” for its role in women’s suffrage.
