A life devoted to whaling and land rights has come to an end. Charles Etok Edwardsen passed away in the place he loved best, a whale camp.
Edwardsen was an outspoken activist who fought against the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act because he believed the Inupiaq people of the north should control the land and resources of the arctic. He was born in Barrow and was the oldest of 14 children. His sister Beverly Hugo says he fought for modern services for his people after seeing running water and flush toilets at boarding school. She says, even as a child, he was strong willed, stowing away on his grandfather’s whaling boat when he was only 5 years old.
“He did hide… [laughing]… and got into Grandpa’s boat. And when Grandpa realized that his son was not going to be denied, he gave him the task of throwing the float after the shoulder person has shot the whale and the harpooner has sent the harpoon off, and Etok’s job as a little boy was to throw the float out.”
Beverly says her mother loved to sew traditional clothing for her oldest son. She says when her mom was dying, her brother got his parka wet on a hunting trip and her mom worried about who would care for him after she was gone.
Beverly Hugo is a younger sister of the late Charles Etok Edwardsen, who died on May 8th. She says as he requested, there will be a political rally instead of a memorial service in his honor. That rally will happen on Saturday in Barrow.
Lori Townsend is the news director and senior host for Alaska Public Media. You can send her news tips and program ideas for Talk of Alaska and Alaska Insight at ltownsend@alaskapublic.org or call 907-550-8452.
