Annie Oakley has been a role model for my youngest daughter, and I often felt that she embodied Annie's determined spirit. Annie's father died with a large young family who were left in poverty. She began hunting and trapping at age seven, then was hired out for slave wages to a family who mentally and physically abused her and whom she called 'the wolves'. She became known in her region for her skill with a rifle and so competed at the age of 15 against a travelling marksman. After 25 shots, she beat the marksman to win $100 and then married him a year later. At only 5 feet tall, she became known as 'Little Sure Shot' in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and became the highest paid performer. After a terrible train accident, she later became an actress and was known to have taught over 15,000 women how to use a gun both for physical exercise and for self defense.
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Honouring Ancestors
AIRdirondack Art Project
Placemaking
Alberta (above) +
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Publications
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