Jane Skjei Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 3037

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The Legislative Series contains information on proposed Constitutional amendments, house bills, senate bills, and concurrent resolutions in North Dakota regarding women’s issues, along with Jane Skjei’s correspondence and research pertaining to the legislation. The documents include election results, voting records, legislative calendars, legislative committees, legislative seating arrangements, and legislative booklets. Senate bills, House of Representatives bills, Senate concurrent resolutions (“SCR”s), and House of Representatives concurrent resolutions (“HCR”s) are dated and arranged by year. Many documents include handwritten notes by Jane Skjei about how the politicians stand on legislation related to the mission of North Dakota NOW. In some cases, two copies of the same document were included: a clean original document and Skjei’s notetaking copy.

The Women’s Issues Series contains documents relating to women’s issues in North Dakota. Supporting and opposing arguments are represented in this series. The Abortion subseries represents the viewpoint of North Dakotans on abortion after the passing of Roe vs. Wade in 1973. The Equal Rights Amendment subseries contains documents pertaining to the Equal Rights Amendment in North Dakota and nationwide during the 1970’s and 1980’s.

The North Dakota Women’s Organizations series includes administrative materials from the women’s organizations that Jane Skjei was involved in, including the North Dakota chapters of the National Organization for Women (ND NOW), National Abortion Rights Action League, (NARAL) North Dakota Citizens for a Real Choice, and The National Women’s Political Caucus. Jane Skjei served as coordinator for the Red River chapter of North Dakota NOW, much of the content from this series is related to this position. Documents from the women’s organizations include meeting minutes, chapter directories, yearly agendas, newsletters, financial documents, lobbying guidelines, surveys sent to North Dakota politicians to determine their stance on bills pertaining to women’s issues, volunteer applications, and information from events, campaigns, and conferences. Folders are ordered chronologically and by organization name.

The Skjei Journals series includes notebooks, calendars, appointment books, and journals used by Skjei for personal record keeping. The calendar and appointment books are titled “The Woman’s Calendar for (year)” and feature information about events in women’s history from the previous year along with photographs, quotes, birthdays, and historical events related to the date. Jane recorded daily events and appointments using these notebooks. Examples of daily recordings include lobbying tasks, legislative schedules, phone calls, board meetings, NOW planning sessions, travelling plans, and contact information.

The Newspaper Clippings series folders are organized by year. Individual clippings are organized chronologically by month and date. The newspaper clippings come from numerous local newspapers, most often Fargo Forum, but also the Minneapolis Tribune, Midweek Eagle, Minot Daily News, The Dickinson Press, and the Bismarck Tribune

Dates

1972-2010s

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection are not held by the Institute for Regional Studies.

Biography

Jane (Dushinske) Skjei was born on December 7th, 1935 to Russell Lowell Dushinske and Genevieve E. Iverson of Devils Lake, North Dakota. She had one younger sister, Gail Dushinske (later Blythe). She grew up in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. She attended Central High School where she was active in school organizations in roles including school newspaper co-editor, pep club president, photography club member, girl’s athletic association member, glee club president. She graduated from NDSU in 1971 with a degree in history. Jane married Mark Skjei on November 13th, 1954 in Bagley, Minnesota. The couple lived in Grand Forks and Devils Lake before settling in Fargo, North Dakota. They had three sons: David, Kevin, and Joel. Jane Skjei was an active leader in the North Dakota chapter of the National Organization for Women, an advocate for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and a pro-choice activist.

Jane died on June 26, 2021 in Fargo, N.D.

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet (2.5 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Active leader in the North Dakota chapter of the National Organization for Women, an advocate for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and a pro-choice activist.