Service League Documentary

Members of Native Action Network’s first Legacy of Leadership Cohort set out to create a documentary on the American Indian Women’s Service League (AIWSL). Alicia Durkin, Liz Rideau, Shanoa Pinkham, and Gail Morris conducted interviews with surviving AIWSL members to record their stories for posterity, with the goal of increasing awareness about this important group of Indigenous women who changed Seattle’s urban landscape in ways that still reverberate today. Founded in 1958, the American Indian Women’s Service League was the first organization in Seattle dedicated towards tackling the problems of urban Indians. The Service League helped to found several influential organizations that still exist, including the Seattle Indian Center, United Indians of All Tribes, the Seattle Indian Health Board, the American Indian Youth Club, and the Indian arts and crafts shop Traditions and Beyond.