Walter Harper, Alaska Native Son
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.43 (840 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0803295901 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 216 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-09-10 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Thomas, a contemporary of Walter Harper . The men and women of Alaska were tough and hearty souls.”—Steve Thomas, author and host of This Old House and Renovation Nation and grandson of the Reverend William A. “A fascinating glimpse into a pivotal moment in Alaskan history through the story of the short life of Walter Harper, a protégé of the redoubtable missionary Hudson Stuck
His parents separated shortly after his birth, and his mother raised Walter in the Athabascan tradition, speaking her Koyukon-Athabascan language. Walter’s strong Athabascan identity allowed him to remain grounded in his birth culture as his Western education expanded, and he became a leader and a bridge between Alaska Native peoples and Westerners in the Alaska territory. He planned to become a medical missionary in Interior Alaska, but his life was cut short at the age of twenty-five, in the Princess Sophia disaster of 1918 near Skagway, Alaska. Harper exemplified resilience during an era when rapid socioeconomic and cultural change was wreaking havoc in Alaska Native villages. During the following years, as the two traveled among Interior Alaska’s Episcopal missions, they developed a father-son-like bond and summited Denali together in 1913. Born in 1893, Walter Harper was the youngest child of Jenny Albert and the legendary gold prospector Arthur Harper. Today he stands equally as an exemplar of Atha