Mary Sattler Peltola is a Yup’ik Eskimo, salmon advocate, and Democrat who represented the Bethel region in the Alaska House of Representatives for 10 years. As a lawmaker, Mary helped rebuild the Bush Caucus that improved lives in rural Alaska under her tenure as Chair.
As Executive Director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, she helped mobilize 118 Tribes and rural Alaskans to advocate for the protection of salmon runs in Western Alaska. Mary served on the Orutsararmiut Native Council Tribal Court and the Bethel City Council. Mary was raised on the Kuskokwim River in Kwethluk, Tuntutuliak, Platinum, and Bethel. She began fishing commercially with her father when she was six years old.