Fifty Miles From Tomorrow; A Memoir of Alaska and Her People

Written by William L. Iggiagruk Hensley Presentation by Mary Hanemayer

• William Hensley was born into the Inupiaq tribe in Northern Alaska, above the Arctic Circle.

• He lived in Kotzebue throughout his childhood and lived a life that was very modest but set closely to traditional ways.

• Food mostly consisted of caught birds, gathered fruits, fish, seal and whale. Seal and whale were used entirely, because their entire body was valuable for fuel, tools and clothing.

• Life was harsh, and the weak and lazy did not last. Those who could work did. No matter the age.

• Society was mainly hunter-gatherer.

• Raised with native Alaskan traditions, most common with his territory

• William talks about hunting excursions, describes living in a small sod home with over 7 other people, and vividly describes the food.

• He greatly wanted to attend school and found it wonderful, even though it was strictly controlled by the Christian Church.

• William experienced a major culture shift from Alaska to the South East, noting that he didn’t favor southern food.

• William took a “when in Rome” attitude and went along with the new culture. Become somewhat of a football star and even rather popular with girls.

• William was at a Christian academy controlled by the Bureau Of Indian Affairs, but never fully adopted the religion

• William was highly disappointed with the treatment of the Alaskan people by the American Government.

• After putting himself through college, he worked tirelessly to climb the ranks of politics in order to make an impact on the improvement and regain the rights of livelihood for his people

• He actually enjoyed politics, even became a State Senator.

• After founding the Northwest Alaska Native Association, achieving civil, land and cultural rights for his people, he was able to settle down into his second marriage and father several children.

• He was able to live on with a more relaxed life closer to his original roots, and even tells of hunting trips.

• Went on to resent the Government and Church for what they did to his culture.

• This picture is real, I got it from his website. Seriously.

• Many environmental activists fought to stop several forms of hunting. Though seal and whale is vital to Alaskan culture, especially Inupiaq, they were granted special rights.

• William comes from the southern most region of the Inupiaq territory. A town on the tip of an island called Kotzebue. He describes it as mostly barren with trees across the water to the north, but still beautiful in its own way.

• If you stayed out in the cold too long or irresponsibly, frostbite or death was a very high and common possibility.