Our gray wolf, Agnes, or “Aggie”, was named after our close friend and Takelma tribal leader Agnes Baker Pilgrim. Agnes was born in 1924 and raised right here in Oregon. She grew up without electricity and at a very young age learned to farm, forage, and fish for meals. Aggie lived in different areas throughout Oregon before finally settling in the Rogue Valley after attending Southern Oregon University in Ashland. She joined the Omicron Delta Kappa sorority and graduated in 1985 at 61 years old with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Native American Studies.

In 2004, she became a founding member of the 13 Grandmothers Society, a council of indigenous women from all over the world dedicated to promoting conservation and peace throughout the world. In 2006 at their 4th council meeting in Tibet, they were hosted by the Tibetan Grandmother, Tsering Dolma Gyaltong, and met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to strengthen their prayers for peace and acknowledge their support for the Tibetan people in their efforts to reclaim their homeland.

In 2016, after over a decade of council meetings, the 13 Grandmothers had finally met at each member’s homeland including: Mexico, Arizona, Oregon, Alaska, Japan, Tibet, Nepal, New Zealand, New Mexico, Gabon, South Dakota, Montana, and Brazil. Their 2016 council meeting was then held at Menla Mountain Retreat in New York, the place in which their journey began.

Despite her passing in 2019, Grandma Aggie’s mission is far from over and her legacy lives on in her children, grandchildren, the people of the Takelma Tribe, and the remaining members of the 13 grandmothers. Aggie was a conservationist, an advocate in preserving native language and culture, and a beacon of hope and peace for future generations. We are proud to honor her legacy here at Wildlife Images with our mission of conservation and our gray wolf ambassador of the same name.