Iñupiaq men in qayaqs, Noatak, Alaska, circa 1929. Edward S. Curtis Collection, Library of Congress Digital Collections.
Crossing the Chilkoot Pass, circa 1898. Courtesy Candy Waugaman and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.
The Gold Rush boomtown of Nome on the Seward Peninsula, 1900. Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library.
Willie Iggiagruk Hensley, Inupiaq scholar and the 2017 keynote speaker for the Alaska Historical Society Annual Conference, published an article titled “Why Russia Gave Up Alaska, America’s Gateway to the Arctic.” It originally appeared on the website The Conversation on March 29, 2017 and was re-posted at the Smithsonian online.
Willie Hensley offers an overview of the historical legacy of the Alaska purchase from Russia and provides a unique perspective on what becoming part of the United States has meant to Native Alaskans.
