Ellisif Wessel is one of the most prominent, but still unknown, female figures in Norway's history. Ellisif lived large parts of her adult life in Kirkenes, where her tireless activity became an important driving force for creating a better and more just society. She saw the poverty and injustice done to groups in society. At the same time, she saw how a few privileged people reaped the riches of natural resources. This was at a time before women were given the right to vote, where many still lived in peat hut in a poorly developed society in the north. She was frozen out of the innermost circles for her commitment.

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Ellisif stood shoulder to shoulder with the working people in Sør-Varanger, helped establish the mining association "Nordens Klippe" for the workers at Sydvaranger mine, and is one of the most powerful personalities in the history of the Norwegian labor movement.