Mary Anniagruk Sage is the daughter of Jim and Esther Lum of Fairbanks. Her grandparents are the late James and Virginia Lum of Yakima, Washington, and the late Luke Elavgak and Mary Anniagruk Saganna of Barrow. She has five children, Alexandra, 13, Clara, 13, Andrew, 7, Kivvaq, 5 and Leo, 2

She was born in Seattle and raised in Fairbanks. She moved to Barrow as a young adult to get to know her extended family and her culture. She took some courses in Barrow at the Ilisagvik College, and then later transferred to UAF. She has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Rural Development with a focus on Small Business Management.

She is employed with the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation as the Manager of the Arctic Education Foundation. Responsibilities include working with the college in training students. She is very involved in her community and enjoys learning from these experiences. Mary is currently serving on the Native Village of Barrow Tribal Council, Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital Governing Body, Inuit Circumpolar Emerging Leaders, and the World Eskimo Indian Olympics Board of Governors. She serves on the Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation Foundation, the City of Barrow Eben Hopson Memorial Scholarship Committee, and the North Slope Regional Council. She and her family are members of the Barrow Dancers, and Mary serves as their Treasurer. She enjoys performing her traditional dances for festivals around the state of Alaska, including local traditional gathering, Kivgiq.