Sadie Brower Neakok: An Iñupiaq Woman

by Margaret B. Blackman

This is the life history of the daughter of Asianggataq, an Eskimo woman, and her husband Charles Bower, the first white settler in Alaska's northernmost community of Barrow. One of ten children, Sadie Brower was raised with a mixture of Inupiat and white traditions. Sent Outside for modern schooling, she returned to Barrow to use her education on behalf o her people. Now in her seventies, she has devoted a lifetime to public service, first as a Bureau of Indian Affairs schoolteacher, than as a health aide, a foster parent, a welfare worker, and, for twenty years, as Barrow's magistrate. She became a key figure in the introduction of the American legal system to bush Alaska as well as an outspoken advocate for people, eventually winning the right for the native language to be the language of the court in cases where the defendants could not speak English. Equally important, in private life she has borne thirteen children as wife to Nate Neakok, an Inupiaq hunter and whaling captain who, she states emphatically, "never went to school, but know more than I did, a college student, a teacher."

Professor Blackman places Sadie Neakok's vivid narrative within the context of the recent history of Barrow and Alaska' North Slope, interweaving cultural and historical data from various sources with Sadie's own perspectives on herself, her people, and the outside world that has increasingly affected them. Blackman's concluding chapter offers a perceptive critical evaluation of the life history process itself. The book makes an important contribution to Alaskan cultural and legal history, to life history methodology, and to studies of women in cross-cultural perspective.

Genres: Anthropology

326 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadie was an amazing person and this book, written in the mid-late 1980s, is essentially her oral history. Having traveled to Utqiagvick (formerly Barrow), AK, and been given an insider’s tour by a local, it was fascinating to “listen” to Sadie as she told the story of her life and, with it, the story of Barrow in her lifetime. Her insights into Inupiak traditions are really interesting. Her direct experience Alaskan statehood and its challenges in the remote villages is a critical part of the regional history, especially that of the Inupiak people. Only gave it 4 stars because detailed oral histories are not fast reads. Nonetheless this is a valuable book for anyone who is interested in the subject.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve had it on my wishlist for years, but I finally found a copy online and ordered it. Sadie’s story is fascinating, and the book is laid out well. I kept a bookmark in the footnotes, so I could access them easily. I wish there were more photos, esp of Sadie’s younger years.
I’m of Iñupiaq heritage myself, and was overjoyed to find a reference to my grandfather in the book. I also did some research and found that Sadie was married to my grandmother’s brother. (I was born in Utqiagvik/Barrow, but raised Outside)

[Liz Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just great. About 2/3rds of it is Sadie telling her life story in her own words. Info from other sources is interpolated. She was born in the northernmost part of Alaska in a large family, went to high school in San Francisco and two years of college in Alaska, then went back to her hometown. She taught school, got married, had quite a lot of children, did social work and helped set up the hospital, then became the magistrate for not just the town but the entire region as the U.S. legal system was just being established in the 1950s. I like the details of living in traditional ways and sewing mukluks and cutting up whales with her ulu but my favorite bits were how she dealt with being the magistrate.

I wish I knew who left this book along with Vilhjalmur Stefansson's "My Life with the Eskimo" in my marina's laundry room free bookshelves! Whoever you were, thanks!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadie Brower Neakok is the daughter of Charles Brower, the first permanent white settler in Barrow, Alaska. Sadie is half Inupiat. Her life story is fascinating as she quickly rose from tomboy to town saint. Sadie did everything for Barrow. She was a teacher, social worker, and judge. Because this is an oral history, it combines the words of Sadie herself with the commentary and historical background of Margaret B. Blackman. While I've had thoughts of this before, it made me want immediately to go record my grandmother's life history. This is a rich read. If you are interested in the culture of Barrow, the Inupiat culture, or you want a good model of oral history, this is the book to read.