INUPIAQ POLITICAL LEADER EBEN NANAUQ HOPSON SR. DIED
Born November 7, 1922, in Barrow, Alaska (AK), Eben was kicked out of school for complaining about the BIA school’s use of unpaid student labor. In World War II, he served aboard an Army tug boat in the Aleutians and earned the rank of Captain with the AK National Guard. Politically, Eben sat on the Barrow City Council (1953), Territorial Legislature (1956) & State Senate (1960-65). In 1965, he organized the Arctic Slope Native Association which launched the AK Native Land Claims (ANLC) and led to the 1971 ANLC Settlement Act. As AK Special Assistant for Native Affairs, Eben developed the North Slope Borough plan providing AK’s northmost villages home rule & Prudhoe Bay oil revenue. He served as Borough Mayor in 1972. Eben also organized the Inuit Circumpolar Conference of Inuit leaders & fought International Whaling Commission (IWC) efforts to ban Inupiat subsistence bowhead whale hunting. Hopson died in Barrow.
Source: "A Short Biography of the Honorable Eben Hopson," Eben Hopson Memorial Archives. Retrieved 11/30/2021, Biography – Eben Hopson Memorial Archives Photo: Alaska State Senate, 1959. Courtesy, Alaska State Senate. Source: Committee/Member Information (state.ak.us)
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