Women’s Way Grand Rapids

Angeline Kelsey "Naw Kay o say" Yob Way

Located in the alley off Sheldon Blvd NE between the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum and The Apartment Lounge.

Angeline Kelsey "Naw Kay o say" Yob
1924-2002

The descendant and ancestor of Chiefs, Angeline Kelsey “Naw Kay o say” Yob was an educator, community activist and citizen of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians. She was the great, great-granddaughter of Chief Maish Ke Aw She, one of the signatories of the Treaty of 1855, which provided the terms for the removal of the Ottawa from the Grand River Valley.

Yob, at the age of five, experienced her own forced move to a Native American Boarding School. Still, she retained her native language and would go on to help lead the Native American Education Program at Grand Rapids Public Schools. For three decades, she used stories as teaching instruments to help students of Native American descent learn and grow in their traditions.

Statement by Artist Alan Compo

Angeline Kelsey Yob helped establish many of the first groups for the Grand Rapidian Native Americans. The turtle shows all the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians. The kids dancing represent the culture, and the knowledge that Angeline brought children. I placed her portrait within the medicine wheel because of the constant lessons within.

Maurilia Ortiz Blakely Way

Located in the alley off Fulton St. W next to San Chez Bistro

Maurilia Ortiz Blakely | 1928 – 2015

Maurilia Ortiz Blakely was a role model, a champion for minority women’s rights, an activist for the poor and an advocate for higher education.

Orphaned at an early age, her maternal aunt raised her to have great respect for their Mexican heritage and to help the less fortunate. A divorced working mother of five, Blakely was a force in her community and helped organize Grand Rapids’ first Mexican Festival in 1970.

After graduating from college with a degree in Social Work at age 51, she assisted Latinx students, women, migrants, the homeless, and the unemployed and helped to establish the Hispanic Institute. Among her many honors was a Grand Rapids Lifetime Achievement Award.

Statement by Artist Arturo Romero

This portrait of Maurilia “Molly” Ortiz Blakely intends to depict her strength as a woman, her humility and the pride she had for her culture, family and community. I was inspired by her ability to command respect while encouraging love as well as her perseverance to help others reach for the stars.

Harriet Woods Hill Way

Located in the alley off Louis St. NW at the northwest corner of GRPD headquarters.

Harriet Woods Hill
1922-2006

Harriet Woods Hill in 1955 became the first African American female officer in the Grand Rapids Police Department. Her career began in the Juvenile Division, and she later trained new recruits about the challenges faced by children. Hill, in 1977, was named the first female detective in the department’s 106-year history. “I came there to do a job, and I wasn’t going to allow [anyone] to force me to quit working because [of their] prejudices,” she said. “Once the door was opened, I never allowed it to become closed.”

Statement by Artist Jasmine Bruce

Harriet Woods-Hill was resilient and humble. Symbolism flows through this piece as waves pay ode to Harriet’s hometown leading to the old-time Grand Rapids cityscape. Lotus flowers symbolize her growth out of muddy waters, all the while soaring above.