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

by William L. Iġġiaġruk Hensley

Nunavut tigummiun!Hold on to the land! It was just fifty years ago that the territory of Alaska officially became the state of Alaska. But no matter who has staked their claim to the land, it has always had a way of enveloping souls in its vast, icy embrace. For William L. Iggiagruk Hensley, Alaska has been his home, his identity, and his cause. Born on the shores of Kotzebue Sound, twenty-nine miles north of the Arctic Circle, he was raised to live the traditional, seminomadic life that his Iñupiaq ancestors had lived for thousands of years. It was a life of cold and of constant effort, but Hensley’s people also reaped the bounty that nature provided. In Fifty Miles from Tomorrow, Hensley offers us the rare chance to immerse ourselves in a firsthand account of growing up Native Alaskan. There have been books written about Alaska, but they’ve been written by Outsiders, settlers. Hensley’s memoir of life on the tundra offers an entirely new perspective, and his stories are captivating, as is his account of his devotion to the Alaska Native land claims movement. As a young man, Hensley was sent by missionaries to the Lower Forty-eight so he could pursue an education. While studying there, he discovered that the land Native Alaskans had occupied and, to all intents and purposes, owned for millennia was being snatched away from them. Hensley decided to fight back.  In 1971, after years of Hensley’s tireless lobbying, the United States government set aside 44 million acres and nearly $1 billion for use by Alaska’s native peoples. Unlike their relatives to the south, the Alaskan peoples would be able to take charge of their economic and political destiny. The landmark decision did not come overnight and was certainly not the making of any one person. But it was Hensley who gave voice to the cause and made it real. Fifty Miles from Tomorrow is not only the memoir of one man; it is also a fascinating testament to the resilience of the Alaskan ilitqusiat, the Alaskan spirit.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Indigenous, Biography Memoir, Biography, Politics

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 23, 2008

Reviews

[Jan-Maat]

Well... I think I came across this thanks to a book review I saw in The New York Times which I saw thanks to the internet.

There are a couple of things I can say about this memoir by a person active in the Alaskan Inuit community written in 2009. It is written in three parts (upbringing and education, activism and struggle, finally 'oh my God, what the hell have we done' and upbeat resolution), it is rather like the dictionary of the Khazars in that language provides structure to the story of his life (and that in a way is part of his purpose, for this is a cunning and thoughtful little Arctic fox of a book) for him I'd say place+ people+ language = identity and it is like Goethe's Italian Journey which I was reading concurrently, a mid-life crisis book. Reading this, a couple of times I felt moved to the verge of tears and so put the book aside for a bit, so if like me you are more of a soft boiled egg when it comes to considering marginalised communities slated to be made into omelettes you too might want to pair it with something else too.

His story beginning as these kinds of story often do with expansive extended families, childhoods that are hard, dirty but happyish, and alcoholic parents, he says his father was a Lithuanian, but he looked more Siberian to me in the reproduced photographs here, mother couldn't get out from under the booze and so he was brought up by his kin folk. Each incident in his recounted life is structured around an Inuit word (this is a great book if you are keen on languages) however the community by his time had already been strongly infected by missionaries and English (the Shiva of the linguistic universe). They loved going to the cinema and watching Westerns, they associated the Indians with the inland tribes who had been traditionally their enemies and so cheered for the white folks and misheard cavalry as Calvary due to missionary activity (though I suppose since the arrival of the cavalry meant salvation for the land hungry settlers besieged in their blockhouse by the wicked Indians the misunderstanding wasn't so far off), but this illustrates the degree of ignorance they have about the history of north America as a whole . White people they called Naluagmiut which was a word used to describe good quality seal skins, which as ethnic names go is pretty good. Due to luck the narrator gets to go to a Baptist boarding school in Tennessee. Here he tells us he is very good due to his inherent native superiority at playing the white man at his own games, this we come to understand is symbolic of his entire life, including basketball, American football, and dating, in all all of which he describes his triumphs, showing us the message that 'we can beat the white man at his own game given a fair chance'. He spends a few terms at higher education institutes including in Washington and becomes aware of racial segregation in the South and the civil rights movement, and roughly of the histories of the various indigenous peoples in the USA.

Anyhow he returns to Alaska and gets involved with the transition to statehood, in-between working for a dollar or so in various odd jobs including a scheme to use a nuclear bomb to create an artificial harbour in order to show the soviets how clever the USA is- this doesn't work out, which for American legal reasons turns out to be the only and a golden opportunity to stake native land claims. The Nixon regime was sympathetic and due to the presence of oil, lots of money is suddenly sloshing about, for all his anti-suicide sentiments, given my own biases, The Limits to Growth and all that, that this Faustian pact was only going to end in cultural suicide. At one point he and some 'friends', all directors and CEOs of various things in Alaska, are travelling up river in a big Aluminium boat to hunt some endangered species and I felt as though I was reading the end of Animal Farm again - the faces of the pigs were indistinguishable from the faces of the quality seal skin people. Because you know, if you aim to play the quality seal skin people at their own games, using their own techniques and tactics, then at some point you tend to become indistinguishable from the quality seal skin people themselves. The boat gets stuck on a sandbar (this a memoir straight out of a storytelling tradition, many incidents serve simply to illustrate the bigger themes and are suspiciously too symbolic to be true but perhaps life is like that sometimes what Jung called synchronicity), and shortly after Hensley has a similar realisation and has a tearful breakdown (what is the point of having loads of juicy oil money to build schools if the children are going to be taught that they and their culture are a load of rubbish best forgot in favour of Ronald McDonald & co) and so he turns back to asking his people what it is that is good about themselves and their heritage and they build some summer camps for the children.

Of interest here is the construction implicitly though the use of language the point is made that the people are their language, if they loose their language they'll loose themselves, secondly the people are their place, the soil is full of the stone tools of their ancestors, they are what they are due to adapting to life in the Arctic, the dual Inuit/American identity of these people underlined by Hensley switching between using people's Inuit and English names. Also of interest is the move towards a pan-Inuit organisation from Alaska to Greenland. But really this is a book about the complex range of issues involved in being a minority culture that cannot escape integration into a wider and not particularly appreciative world. Not recommended for vegetarians or for people who disapprove of an owl's wing being used as a broom. And environmentalists get short shrift as Hensley declares his relationship to the natural world is more multi-dimensional than theirs. I do feel the lack of a broader perspective with more analysis of the bigger issues.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

William L. Iggiagruk Hensley was born north of the Arctic Circle and was raised in a traditional Iñupiaq way, and by the time Alaska became a state, worked in politics and as a lobbyist to try to retain native lands. It is interesting from the cultural side and also serves to demonstrate the difference that can be made by one person. I had never even heard of him, so I feel very appreciative of Erin and Dani's Book Club for including this in the year of reading indigenous memoir.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author states it clearly at the beginning: Most stories of Alaska are people from other places moving to Alaska, finding themselves, and talking about it. The stories of Native people don't get told. Hensley shares his story of being Inupiaq, as a child living as people in Alaska have lived for generations, going to school, which worked to erase his culture, getting involved in politics as a young man to work to preserve land for Native people, then realizing the ultimate importance of preserving the spirit, traditions, and culture of Natives. For me it was another book that put real shape and substance to something I only had vague knowledge of previously. It's a fascinating read and necessary for learning about how we -the USA- should act in terms of *not* treating white culture as the neutral culture that everyone needs to merge into.

I've been thinking so much about the points Henley brings up about school. For Inupiaq children, to quote the book: "The schools were designed not to reinforce their identity, but to destroy it. In the place of a well-rounded individual who knew who he was, who knew his language, his family's history, and the values that sustained his people, the powers that be wanted an individual trained in arithmetic, English, American history, and economics" The children were not allowed to speak their native language, and instead of learning the skills that had kept their ancestors alive for generations were learning the standard American history, multiplication tables, the usual. The Inupiaq children were being trained for low wage jobs while their traditional way of life was intentionally being erased. Even now, in all parts of the country, we give our kids to the government for seven hours of every day, five days a week, and trust that our children are being taught the right things. That's a scary thought for all of us.

Also- Both the beginning and the end of the book have information about the Inupiaq language, bonus interesting material.

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifty Miles from Tomorrow is a vivid and heartfelt reflection on Hensley’s boyhood and the life of his people. I loved the first part, full of rich stories and observations, and his later reflections are thoughtful and moving. I was a bit saddened by his combining missionary work with government roles, but his writing remains sincere and compelling. Overall, a rewarding and thought-provoking read.

[Nikki]

One of my coworkers lent me a copy of this book, and I later also learned that the author's son is an electrical engineer at the organization! This was a nice read that helped contextualize some of the history and politics that are often referenced at ANTHC. It also gave some insight into some unfortunately common experiences of Alaska Natives such as alcoholism, low self esteem, and struggle to retain language and customs. It is ultimately an uplifting memoir, and it makes me glad to be part of an organization that strives to better the lives of Alaska Natives.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important and also a good read. I learned a lot about Iñupiat history and values, and it helped me understand the existence of corporations and how/why they exist. Also, more importantly, learned about the systems that tried to erase the identities and language and culture of Native Alaskans

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifty Miles from Tomorrow refers to a timezone location on the west coast of Alaska, but, more importantly, tells the remarkable story of the Native People through the eyes of the mixed-blood native who led the quest to save land for all the natives of Alaska.

Hensley tells of his upbringing with relatives who lived off the land in northwest Alaska, of his education in Tennessee and Washington, D.C., and how a law course taken back home in Alaska opened his eyes to legal changes affecting all Native People in Alaska as it was nearing statehood and beyond.

First, Hensley had to find a way to encourage his people to recognize what was happening, and, secondly, unite to pursue action to secure a share of their lands and be compensated by the United States government. He succeeds, and then launches his own political career and advocacy for his people while still placating Alaska's ever-growing immigrant population (mostly of European descent) and American laws.

This is a history lesson on Alaska from within its natives, not the quest of outsiders to tame the land and people for themselves and their own version of government and economic pursuits. Readers get a close-up look of the annual life cycle of Native life and the values of a people who were always welcoming and accommodating to outsiders, often at their own expense. Hensley led an effort to make his people see what was happening at the moment and chart a course for their own tomorrow.

This book is a treasure because of Hensley's storytelling but also because a good friend who lives in Anchorage, and who is in step with the native population, gave us a copy, complete with a personal note from the author, welcoming us in anticipation of a visit we had been planning (but have yet to complete) to Alaska.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Willie Hensley is one of the most prominent, tenacious, ambitious politicians in contemporary Alaska. I've heard him speak on several occasions and always thought his personality, especially as he makes himself known through his speaking voice, enigmatic. No wonder. Hensley lays it all out in this book. The height and distance of his life's arc is remarkable. The story contains much information about the establishment of Alaska Native people in the new state's political discourse. But for people already versed in that social history, what stands out most is the portrait of a man grappling with almost unbearably heavy questions of duty, respect, cultural identity and personal destiny.

[Rick Skwiot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating view inside Native Alaskan life above the Arctic circle and the author's journey in fighting for his people and their ancestral lands. His memoir not only spans Hensley's own 70+ years but, through his recounting the folkways, food and traditions of the Inupiaq, also the thousands of years that his hunter-gatherer people endured in their harsh environment.

[Patrice La Vigne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably never would have discovered it had it not been for my local book club here in Alaska. The person hosting (a long-term local) proclaimed: “you’ll learn more about Alaska than you have from any other book.” That’s a tall order given the number of Alaskan nonfiction books out there, but it’s a 100% accurate statement. This first-hand account of growing up Native Alaskan is unique because this is a Native who played a key role in Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the US government thereafter. I think these 2 quotes summarize his conclusion about living among the maelstrom of changes in Alaska in the 20th century: “I realized with dreadful clarity that all the political & economic activity of the past 15 years had not really brought better lives for our people.” And: “The new way does not equal a better life.”

[Carson Wolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was very well written with accounts through his childhood and political life that gave a detailed description of what life in Alaska was like in the late 20th century. It was a peak into how complex life was but simple at the same time because survival depended on those present. It was a very easy read with simple words/phrases of his native language that added a layer that leveled up the reading difficulty as well as the personal feel. Would read again and would recommend for those who enjoy memoirs and personal life stories of the Alaskan bush and the political dynamic of natives rights.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

An illuminating history of Hensley's own life as well as of the Iñupiaq and Alaska during a time of great change. This book is intensely informative but also so personal and I very much appreciate how Hensley compiled this memoir.

[Colin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this last week in Anchorage at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Turns out Hensley was a fellow GW grad!

This is a well written and vivid account of an Inuit life and the history of Native land rights activism in Alaska. Learned a lot and was fascinated by most every anecdote.

[Care · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book really focuses on the author's childhood living semi-nomadically in the traditional style of the Iñupiaq people. The elements that touched on food gathering and hunting, animals, family relationships, and survival/hardship. These descriptions of cultural vibrance and connections to his ancestors and the environment, that's the part of Fifty Miles from Tomorrow that I enjoyed.

The second half is focused on politics, land claims, government lobbying, that sort of thing. It’s just not the kind of stuff I’m interested in reading about though it’s astounding the accomplishments towards the movement that this author has made! Thank you to @erins_library and @thunderbirdwomanreads (part of the collective @erinanddanisbookclub that I’m a part of) for suggesting this book, it was great getting to know more about this battle for justice and this important Iñupiaq figure!

[Scot · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this memoir because of the topic: I have only really been able to spend time with Iñuits on a few occasions in my life, and those have been fairly fleeting encounters. I’ve never even been to Alaska. Therefore, learning about their culture and experience from an insider’s perspective was appealing. The author was born in 1941, and was part of the last generation to spend much of their early years living out in nature in the Far North, eking out an existence in the traditional ways with only the most rudimentary of technological support procured from time spent in near where the naluagmiut, or white people, would gather.

Iggiagruk, also known as William L. Hensley, loved the old ways. His home base was around Kotzebue Sound, just north of the Arctic Circle. But he was a voracious reader, and was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of an opportunity to further his education by attending a Baptist boarding school in Tennessee during the days of segregation. Coming of age during the Kennedy administration, he would become a political advocate for his people, inspired in part by his participation in Martin Luther King’s March on Washington in 1963, and he would help shape his people’s future, as they negotiated for a land settlement from the government of the United States, and once arriving at an acceptable price, used the monies procured to set up corporations and infrastructures that would bring conveniences and other advancements to all the indigenous peoples scattered across the expanse of Alaska. But assimilation comes at a cost, and this is an issue also grappled with throughout the book that makes it a worthwhile read.

There is not great depth of thought here, and one sometimes gets the sense that some of the recollections of struggles within the author’s personal life or his people’s collective life have been oversimplified or broadly generalized. Still, everyone benefits when they can see the world from a new perspective, and I would wager since not that many people have spent a lot of time reflecting on the twentieth century’s impact on Iñuit people, there are many worthwhile anecdotes here for general readers to pause and consider. I found the stories of the hunts particularly fascinating, and I was heartened by the movement to bring the Iñuit peoples of Greenland, Russia, Canada, and the United States closer together. A brief glossary and language guide as an appendix at the end offers anyone interested an introduction to the Iñupiaq language.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifty Miles from Tomorrow by William L. Iggiagruk Hensley was the May pick for @erinanddanisbookclub. I'm so glad I read this book about Hensley and his people, the Inupiaq of Alaska. His memoir tells his story of growing up living off the land and surviving in the traditional way of his ancestors. But as he comes of age, Alaska is becoming a state and he must help protect native lands from being stolen from the U.S. government. His story is essential to understanding Alaskan history. It shows the challenges his community faced when modern technology and industry were brought to the land. They were often left without resources that could help them afford these modern amenities. William and so many others fought for those who simply wanted to keep existing where they always had. I highly recommend reading this one.

[Celeste Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whenever I visit somewhere new, I like to read a book about that place. I was preparing for a trip to Alaska and found tons of memoirs about people who visited Alaska once, found themselves there, then moved their families up to live in the bush for either 6 months or 20 years (not much in between, for whatever reason). Those stories are interesting, but I really wanted to understand the perspective of someone who understood Alaska's evolution.

Fifty Miles from Tomorrow is an excellent recounting of William Hensley's life. The first half begins with his challenging early childhood with his birth mother in Nome, Alaska, then recounts his adolescence around the Kotzebue Sound with his adoptive parents (also his biological grandparents), his fond memories of subsistence living, and the lessons and cultural values that he inculcated through these experiences. It then follows his education at a boarding school in Tennessee, where Hensley learned to integrate into "American" society as it stood in the 60s.

The second half of the book follows Hensley's political career, particularly focusing on how Hensley organized many Inuit peoples to fight for land claims in the tenuous early years of Alaska's statehood and led the organization of Alaska Native Corporations. Doing so required launching sophisticated PR campaigns, fighting big oil companies' interests, and navigating an unclear new political world. Hensley offers occasional comparisons to what he learned from the treatment of First Peoples in the Lower 48 states, which are relevant to political discourse in the last 20 years. I especially appreciated Hensley's reversal of the "noble savage" archetype in which indigenous peoples are simply benign stewards of the land; instead, Hensley portrays his colleagues as savvy business people who, for example, weighed the benefits and demerits of leasing land to oil companies and determined that the proceeds would better their communities. This was an important and salient demonstration of Inuits' ability to navigate their cultural values and the changing demands of a modern world.

This book is extremely readable, and I finished in a plane ride. The story itself is captivating and offers the perspective of someone who was very important in championing native Alaskans' land rights. I am very glad that I am aware of who William Hensley was.

The book loses stars because, although it claims to be answering some hard questions, I found that it avoided some topics that struck me as pertinent and on which his opinion would be valuable. For example:
* Personal and cultural attachments to physical place are an interesting and deep topic. It's hard for me to relate there -- I don't feel an especially strong attachment to where I grew up (and it may bear mentioning that I am a white American). I fully recognize that my perspective is not the only one, but for William Hensley, leaving his small town was what gave him the perspective and experience to understand the world. I would have really liked to hear his thoughts on this duality -- fighting for his his people to stay on their culture's ancestral land but only being able to contextualize the threat to that way of life by having left. He even describes himself as possibly having genetic material that causes him metaphorically check around the next river bed, potentially like his ancestors that crossed the Bering Strait. So does he think the best thing for his children is to stay in Kotzebue? Does he just want to preserve the option for his people? Where is "home" if you are driven to explore?
* Hensley very fairly discusses the hugely detrimental impacts of colonizers' education curriculum and how it created an inferiority complex among First Peoples, undermined cultures' values, and vilified students' languages. These are, of course, bad. I would have liked to hear how native cultures' perspectives on education (with improved curriculum!) has changed, given that Hensley's teachers had to convince his well-meaning adoptive mother to let him stay in school while the rest of the family left town. Is consistent education compatible with traditional ways of life?

I had many question along these veins. Hensley digs very deep into some topics and lightly teases but does not explore others, such as those referenced above. He's clearly a deep thinker, and I'm certain he's considered these -- would've loved to have seen them addressed in his memoir.

Anyways, great entry read to Alaska that feels a bit closer to honoring its rich heritage.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating perspective on life above the Arctic Circle, from the subsistence lifestyle of the past to today, looking back on what has been gained and lost through Alaskan statehood and contact with the rest of the world. I recommend it to anyone interested in understanding native culture --particularly in Alaska but also among indigenous people more broadly.

William L Iggiagruk Hensley's background of first being immersed in the indigenous way of life and thought and then the white educated way of life and thought makes him a particularly well positioned interpreter of one way of life to the other. It's different from someone who started as an outsider and then went to live among native people. He is also obviously gifted as a writer and leader, passionate about the welfare of his people.

Hensley was born in 1941 to an Inupiaq/Eskimo mother and a Lithuanian fur trader father he never knew. Neglected by his mother, he was adopted by her family, who taught him to fish, hunt, gather berries, care for the sled dogs, etc. His great aunt and uncle became his parents and the extended family lived in a one-room tarpaper house in the winter and sod house in the summer, without electricity or plumbing. They faced many potentially life-threatening situations including severe cold, thin ice and diseases and injuries with no medical help available nearby. His adoptive father and sister-in-law died from botulism from food gone bad.

His life took a crucial turn when a Baptist missionary arranged for him to attend a church boarding school in Tennessee, far from everything and everyone he knew. He went on to attend George Washington University and the University of Alaska, but never forgot where he came from. When the native land rights issue arose, he became a passionate advocate, playing a key role in the settlement to preserve some Alaskan lands for their original inhabitants and to create the native associations and corporations that play an important role in Alaskan politics today. He also ended up serving 10 years in the state legislature. Eventually he turned from preserving land to the importance of preserving native cultures and languages.

The stories of his early life are fascinating. He is not so forthcoming about his later life, other than to confess he neglected his family.

[Dree · Rating 4 out of 5]

William L Iggiagruk Hensley has had an amazing life, and in this memoir he describes his childhood, teen years, and then the realizations that led to his activism and political work. This man led an amazing and fascinating life, and when this was published in 2009, he was an elder. The book is written in a very direct and linear way and is very easy to understand, with 2 sets of photos included. An adult book, but definitely YA friendly.
———
As a child he and his sister were taken from their alcoholic mother in Nome by her cousin--who took them back to his parents in Kotzebue. They raised these two children--in addition to their own large family--as their own. In many ways this book is a paean to his great aunt and uncle. They raised all of their children in the traditional Inupiat ways--in Kotzebue for the winter, and out in the bush for the summer. They trapped, hunted, fished, and gathered to put away food for the long winter. They dried, smoked, and fermented everything. They ate traditional delicacies like whale skin and walrus. He had a wonderful childhood.

Hensley himself wanted to go to school, so he went. And he loved it, and went on to boarding school in Tennessee and then college. He served in the Alaska legislature, and worked in DC. He was instrumental in the Alaskan Native Claims, helped found NANA, and worked for an Inuit corporation. He helped found the Alaska Federation of Natives, and helped found/fun high schools in the far north so students no longer have to go to boarding school. Later in life, he came to the realization that as much as he loved school and education, a standard American education (let alone a boarding school education) has helped (intentionally) destroy native cultures, and he convinced the Inupiak to work to collect and share and educate the younger generations before the language and culture was lost.

[earthshattering · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first part of this book, which recounted the author’s childhood living close to an Iñupiat village. I loved his stories of him living with his family, and he bridged the gap in history for me between the lifestyle of Iñupiat post-whaling but pre-running water and electricity.

It got a little more hairy when he got into ANCSA and the battles and tensions behind that. It’s good to read about it, but I also found it stressful. He seemed a little bit politician-y, where he emphasizes his humble upbringing and hard work ethic. The truth is that people who really embody these values tend not to go around telling everyone how humble the hard-working they are. I understand that as a politician and a Native, sometimes you need to make people aware of your accomplishments because society is quick to discount your contributions, but it’s not really my vibe.

I think this is an important book to read about the beginnings of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. He makes many great observations about the treatment of Native culture in current society.

Some good quotes:

“No one ever feared death, although many came close to it. We greeted each morning with great expectations. What would the weather be like? Might some ptarmigans be roosting on the ivrulik—could we be lucky enough to catch a few so easily and quickly? Would there be anything in the fox trap?”

“One of the most important lessons involved piyaquq, which, loosely translated, is a tendency to be accident-prone. This is not a trait to have in a hunting environment. If you have it, others will avoid you in the wild: it is simply too dangerous to be out there with you.”

“We knew that waste was an archenemy.”

[Dezirah Remington · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the prologue Iggiagruk Hensley states he is not a writer, but as he wasn't able to find own voices histories of his people he decided to write this book. Structured in a classic political memoire style, the author mentions then quickly moves on from most of the trauma and hardship of his youth. Through out the book are vignettes that are either self deprecating and humorous or instances of triumph. It makes for an engaging and relatively easy read.

Iggiagruk Hensley does a great job of integrating Inupiq language and names through out the book in a way that is instructional to those who do not have a background with it. He includes pronunciation supports and a full glossary. Both I found very interesting and helpful as I read the book.

This man has had an amazing life, and has used his gifts for the benefit of his people and Alaska. I learned so much from his accounts. I was pleasantly surprised at his ability to within the vignettes to build worlds in politics and traditional activities that were vivid.

I do wish he had explored some of the harder points of his life a little more. While he does very well in regards to his relationship and the loss of his adoptive mother Naungagiaq, we miss the same depth of self reflection in regards to his occasional interactions with his birth mother, his sister and his divorce and his second wife.

Overall a very informative read.

[Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently reading Yuuyaraq, and I think it may be a good companion piece to this memoir.

and, I'm afraid I would be remiss if I didn't note that NANA now profits from contracts with ICE and operates detention facilities that "fail[] to provide minimally safe conditions"

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir by a native Alaskan citizen and his people is deeply moving. Like the Native Americans in the lower 48, they were forced away from their culture, their language, and their customs by the arrogance of white pioneers and politicians. Hensley tells of his efforts to retain land for his people, including as a representative of Congress.

But it is also a story of a people whose respect for each other and for nature and the environment far exceeds the behavior of many Americans today. Their sense of community and care for its members is a sacred trust. The author writes, “Your accomplishments are measured by your character and the qualities long and deeply prized in the region. Up here, humility and cooperation, generosity and goodwill still trump wealth and academic and political process.”

We have much to learn from them!

[Bikiran Guha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really about the culture of the native alaskans, the oppression they have been facing since the white people barged in there and tried to stamp out their origins. The author was from a generation who witnessed this change firsthand and dedicated his life towards preserving their culture, land and a way of life.

I enjoyed reading this book, although parts of it were a little boring. It really provided insight into the native alaskan way of life and their struggles. I am from India and it resonates with me too, since the british also did something similar with us too, making us think that our culture and way of life was somehow inferior.

Anyways, this is not a book that ends with despair. It shows how resilient they are and how they are preserving their way of life, against all odds.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in a year of reading Indigenous Memoirs with Erin & Dani's Book Club. (Instagram and Patreon)

Some of the Indigenous Memoirs have been gut wrenching or even impossible for me to read. The pain is So Visceral! This one has the pain, but put in such a “this is life” way as to make it bearable. I still felt it, but it didn’t stop me from reading.

I absolutely Loved that by the time our thieving government got to Alaska, the Alaskan Natives were prepared somewhat for what was to come! It was absolutely Glorious to read about their preparedness and Protection of their Homelands!!

I enjoyed reading this man's life from hardscrabble life on the tundra to becoming a politician to protect his homeland! The traditions, ways of life and history was inspiring and thought provoking.

[Phyllis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, reasonably well written. Fifty Miles from Tomorrow is both a biography of the first 40+ decades of the life of author William L. Hensley and a discussion of the fight for the rights of the indigenous peoples of Alaska.

It's the latter part that is most interesting. The indigenous peoples had their lives, culture, and even education totally upended by the coming of Russians in the 18th century followed by miners, whaling ships, missionaries, and the U.S. government. The book shows us how life changed. William Hensley shows us how these people learned and are learning to reclaim the best parts of their heritage.

Well worth reading if you have any interest in the topic at all.

[Nicolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book review time: Welp, this book got me. Made me cry like a baby. I just get emotional when I think about Alaska’s history and my own identity being a little bit Alaska Native. A lot of the history is deeply infuriating and despicable, how the people were treated.
The author also talked about the “Iñupiaq Spirit” and what those values include, and I had never thought about it before. William Iggiagruk Hensley is honestly one of my heroes now, because he’s done so much for Native Alaskan’s in the way of fighting to keep their land and preserve culture. I think this book made me even more grateful for my family, present and gone. Highly highly recommend this book.

[Shawnnnnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book, especially the beginning chapters, about the native lifestyle merely 50 years from now. No electricity, no hot water, let alone internet. The nomadic style of living on the land is often romanticized, yet the real harsh life can be brutal for the unprepared.
The narrative got a bit difficult to read once it gets to the land right movement and subsequently, feels a bit self bragging, making the book not bio enough, yet not native history/nonfiction enough either. The final value piece about the native value is eye opening and reassuring. Man, how this country has treated the Alaskan natives, and how the education and economic system has failed them.

[Sarah Pascarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unexpected encapsulation of all of American history in one life, this memoir covers Hensley's Inupiat childhood north of the Arctic Circle, followed by his lower 48 education and unexpected career as a politician, businessman, community organizer, and cultural preservationist. At heart, it's a testament to family, community, sustainability, and adaptation (both to nature and culture). Most of all, though, it's a call for respect and dignity, particularly for long-marginalized groups.

[Israel Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hensley has the gift of story-telling; but most importantly, he had the will to act when he saw Native land claims in jeopardy. Although he remains humble in the telling, Hensley can be called one of the most important Native political figures, having spear-headed the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement. Hensley's memoir also intimately explores Alaska Native history and culture. His insights were a reference for my book, Gods of the Flesh.