Walter Harper, Alaska Native Son

by Mary F. Ehrlander

2018 Alaskana Award from the Alaska Library Association
2018 Alaska Historical Society James H. Drucker Alaska Historian of the Year Award

Walter Harper, Alaska Native Son illuminates the life of the remarkable Irish-Athabascan man who was the first person to summit Mount Denali, North America’s tallest mountain. Born in 1893, Walter Harper was the youngest child of Jenny Albert and the legendary gold prospector Arthur Harper. His parents separated shortly after his birth, and his mother raised Walter in the Athabascan tradition, speaking her Koyukon-Athabascan language. When Walter was seventeen years old, Episcopal archdeacon Hudson Stuck hired the skilled and charismatic youth as his riverboat pilot and winter trail guide. 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.

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. Today he stands equally as an exemplar of Athabascan manhood and healthy acculturation to Western lifeways whose life will resonate with today’s readers.

 

Genres: Biography, History

216 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2017

Reviews

[Bcoghill Coghill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the stories I grew up with. I enjoyed every page and hope you do as well.
I grew up in Nenana Alaska, the son of a missionary nurse and a merchant family in country back to the first decade of the twentieth century. I've known a few of the characters and worked or traveled most of the places mentioned in the book.
It is marvelous portrait of a few men and the time and place they lived.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short biography by author Mary Ehrlander was an enjoyable read and I recommend it. Its audience will be Alaskans, people interested in Alaskan history, and possibly mountaineering interests. The jacket synopsis is a good overview of the book.
Walter Harper is famous as the first person to stand on the summit of Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley). He was only 21 when he accomplished this feat in 1913 as a member of the Karstens/Stuck 4-man team. The book makes clear it was a remarkable physical and mental challenge, and that Harper was perhaps the main reason the team was successful.
It is evident from Ehrlander's carefully researched story that Walter Harper was a talented, unique, and destined young man who's life was cut short in the tragic sinking of the 'Prince Sofia' in 1918 in Alaska's Inside Passage. The book is a nice window into not just Harper's life, but the life of Interior Alaska and missionary/Alaska Native interactions around the turn of the twentieth century.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've wanted to read this essentially since it came out and I'm so glad that I finally did. Well written account of the life of someone who lived many lifetimes of experiences in a mere quarter century, a significant one being the first to set food atop Denali's sunmit. I first learned of him while reading about the Princess Sophia, the ship that took him to his death, and it was wonderful to finally get to read the book of who he was and what he did with his life.

[Franz Mueter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of a very promising young man who would undoubtedly become a respected leader in the native community had he not tragically perished in the sinking of the Princess Sophia. I was particularly interested in the account of their Denali Ascent, which has several features named after Harper by his mentor and co-leader of the Denali expedition, Archdeacon Hudson Stuck. I did not been aware of Harper's critical contributions to the success of the expedition. The book is factual, well written, and a fairly quick read.

[Mary Odden · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a moment, suspend what you think you know about missionaries and cultural appropriation in the far north in the late nineteenth century and early 20th. Read this concise book about an adventure-prone Anglican priest, Hudson Stuck, who has side-bar pivotal roles in Alaska history, and his favorite prodigy Walter Harper, first to ascend Denali and a man who walked with grace in both realms of a divided society. Thirty years ago I sat in the rare book room at Fairbanks UAF library with a copy of Stuck's Winter Journey... in my lap and wondered if those stories could ever be told enough or well enough--the nature of Stuck's mentorship and complexity of his love for Harper yes but also what seemed to be his vision--what the future could be if languages and the knowledges and skills to live in the north and the self-respect of whole cultures as well as individuals could thrive alongside the best that "western" thought could offer. Ehrlander has treated Stuck and Harper and their time with the respect and complexity they deserve and we of the moving present deserve to know about.

[MTMAN2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

While on our recent travels in Alaska I visited the Talkeetna Ranger Station and discussed mountaineering, Denali, and history with the ranger at the desk. When I asked what one book should I consider from their offerings, she immediately said, the book about Walter Harper. I bought a copy, took it home, and finished reading it in two days. A short read but very compelling and interesting. A great combination of the history of Alaska and its native peoples as well as the early missionary and mountaineering efforts including the first successful climb of Denali. In the end the bright light of Walter and Francis lives shine through the most. A great companion read for those traveling to Alaska or interested in these topics!

[Sasha Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a class that I am taking and I am glad that I did. This book is remarkably told and in addition to explaining Walter Harper's life the author gives a great history of the region of interior Alaska that really sets the scene for the time in which Harper lived. Harpers adventures with Stuck were so fun to read and I grew to really like Walter by the end of the book and entirely forgot about the man's death that had been foretold since the beginning. I wish more people would read this book and learn about a man that was almost erased from history because he really did contribute so much to his own community and the rapidly changing Alaska frontier.

[Daniel Cornwall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. Possibly too reliant on missionary sources for general Alaska background. Author acknowledges large debt to episcopal sources and having Harper's Denali journal and letters his wife wrote are helpful. Definitely worth a read.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The engrossing tale of the life of Walter Harper, the first man known to set foot on Denali's summit. Son of famed gold prospector Arthur Harper, and protege to explorer & archdeacon Hudson Stuck, Harper led an extraordinary life in Alaska's Interior during the early 1900's.

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging read with well-researched insight into the culture of Alaska at the time. Incredibly tragic end to Walter's story and one can only wonder at the continued impact he would have had on Alaska history had he lived longer.

[Timothy Fewless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and engaging. Spoke with the author via zoom. She is an exceptional researcher