Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People

Mr. Hensley (Iggiagruk) has written a wonderful memoir about the Alaska Natives' coming into the modern age. My grandparents lived a total traditional lifestyle with almost no Western influence, and my parents were the 'in-between' generation, between the stone age and the space age. He describes this same situation in that of his family. Although I knew he was a great leader of our people, I did not realize Mr. Hensley had such a huge impact on our Alaska Native society in the form of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. I am very grateful to him for his herculean efforts on behalf of all Alaska Natives to keep a small part of the land and resources that we held for millennia. I applaud him for his continuing efforts to remind Alaska Natives to keep hold of our diverse cultures, languages, and customs. He serves as an example to other Alaska Natives that we too can write our memoirs and be heard, that we too have remarkable stories to tell.

I'll just chime in briefly to say "me, too." A very enjoyable and informative book, if you have an interest in Alaska history and natives. A few details not mentioned yet: Alaska natives found some unexpected allies in their quest for quiet titles to land in Alaska, including Colorado Democrat Wayne Aspinall, Vice-President Spiro Agnew, and ultimately Richard Nixon himself, who in 1971 signed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which awarded Alaska natives title to 44 million acres in Alaska (16% of the state), and almost $1 billion for relinquishing all other claims. 16% doesn't seem excessive -- here in Arizona, the tribes own about 27% of the state -- and the Alaska natives probably got higher-quality land. More of their first choices, anyway. Hensley relates amusing anecdotes of NANA, the new Inuit corporation, entering the reindeer business -- the main market is for the antlers, which then brought $40 per pound wholesale in the Korean sex-charm market. Overall, he's a charming guy who doesn't appear to take himself too seriously, and who's made a difference in improving the lives of Alaska natives. Highly recommended. Happy reading-- Peter D. Tillman

When you open this book, know that you will be peering into the very private life of a very modest man. However, sharing this personal story also gives a full account of an event in Alaska's political history that is a textbook for all indigenous people seeking their historical claims and rights.

Willie Hensley's life story is one of extraordinary range and comprehension, both literally and figuratively. From a childhood lived above the arctic circle, in the "twilight of the stone age" among his Inupiat extended family, through an abrupt transplantation for schooling in eastern Tennessee and then Washington DC, the arc of his life is nearly without parallel in modern America. With powerful imagery and elegant, flowing prose, Willie conveys the essence of life as an Alaska Native in the 20th century as no one has done before. He paints vivid pictures of the magnificent land of northwestern Alaska, the incomparable wisdom, dignity, grace and humor of his Inupiat (Inuit) culture---and then the equally harsh challenges facing his people since Alaska became America: forced assimilation by missionaries and teachers who were both "church and state" in one;and the challenge of sustaining life and culture in harmony with the land and sea and natural resources while also surviving in a "modern" world driven by a cash economy. Willie's life's work -- of seeing that Alaska's Native people retain ownership of ancestral lands while they fight to hold onto a fraying sense of cultural identity and still prosper --is really a tale of universal human challenges. That is what makes this such an important book, for the lessons we can all learn about adaptability and continuity from these First People in our nation of immigrants. Willie's is the only such clear and powerful Native voice to have come from Alaska and find such a wide and receptive audience. For all of our sakes, may there be countless more.

Here is a really excellent book about the recent history of Alaska and unique life. Its about the right person in the right place at the right time with the right idea having the courage to take the right actions. Willie shares personal details of a very different and impactful life from the relatively humdrum of the rest of us. On a personal level it's a very private sharing of a full and challenging life from a sod hut on the shores of the Bering Strait to the proverbial halls of power in Washington DC. On a political level it tells some of the details of how Alaska came to have a very different, respectful, and sharing relationship between native people and culture and that of the recently-arrived western civilization. On an even broader level it gives us a glimpse of the processes and realities of bringing together widely differing needs and approaches to knowing, loving, sharing, and exploiting the land. Willies story gives non-natives and even natives, an opportunity to understand how others may look at Alaska. Willie shares with us a deep well of personal courage, commitment to family and culture, and dedication to see things through to the end envisioned, and in the process reminds us all that if you want to get it done, you just have to go out and do it.