Anna Moore Shaw

Anna Moore Shaw (November 30, 1898 — April 18, 1976) was an Akimel O'odham storyteller, autobiographer, and civic leader. She is the first Native American woman to earn a high school diploma in Arizona. She was incredibly active in the Akimel O'odham (Pima), Piipaash (Maricopa), and the combined Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community. Her generation is the first to grow up with both Pima traditions as well as Christianity, which shaped her activism and involvement in both the Church Women United Group, and the Salt and Gila River Reservations. on the Gila River Indian Reservation, located in south-central Arizona, adjacent to the south side of Phoenix. where she was roommates with Helen Sekaquaptewa, a Hopi writer, for three years. The couple later moved to Phoenix when Ross Shaw got a job with the Santa Fe Railroad. From 1950 to 1952, Moore Shaw studied Writing for Publication at the Phoenix Technical School.

The two publications focused on the Pima traditions Anna Moore Shaw hoped to preserve for future generations. Her first publication, Pima Indian Legends highlights traditional short stories that were passed down through generations in Akimel O'odham language. She founded the Aid to the Elderly program in 1966 to give back to the Akimel O'odham elders through improved housing. Serving as well on the C.H. Cook Christian Training School and the Salt River Reservation Mutual Self-Help Housing Commission to provide good homes for low-income residents, Moore Shaw was dedicated to making a difference. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community quotes A Pima Past as Moore Shaw describes the importance of keeping tribal pride alive despite assimilation.

"We women get together to weave baskets in the old designs, and we have started a museum where everyone can see the beautiful artifacts of our proud Pima-Maricopa heritage. But we can never go back to the old way of life. The white man and his cities surround us – we must embrace those of his ways which are good while keeping our pride in being Indians."

Shaw died on April 18, 1976 at the age of 77. In 1981, she was among the first women inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.