JULY 13, 1929

AHTNA LINGUISTIC PIONEER MILDRED “MILLIE” BUCK BORN

From Chitina, Alaska (AK), Millie was an active member of the Chitina Native Corporation (CNC). Raised in the Chitina area, she grew up within a traditional subsistence lifestyle. Buck attended the Chitina Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) School to the 8th grade then attended Eklutna BIA boarding school. She was a 4-H Club Leader and worked as a dental assistant. A well-known pioneer in the bilingual and multi-cultural areas of education, Buck contributed greatly to the research, teaching, and publishing of Native language materials, and particularly in preserving the Ahtna language. Millie assisted Dr. James Kari of University of Alaska Fairbanks with the “Ahtna Noun Dictionary.” An active board member for Chitina Native Council, Ahtna Corporation, and CNC, she also was a Johnson O’Malley Program Director for Copper River Native Association. In 1977, Buck was named Alaska Native Woman of the Year by the Alaska Federation of Natives. Millie died in Anchorage, AK, on August 30, 2011.

Sources:

“Millie Buck,” Project Jukebox, Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program.  Retrieved 5/1/2023, Project Jukebox | Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program (uaf.edu)

“Mildred Buck Obituary (2011) - Chitina, AK,” Anchorage Daily News, 9/1/2011.  Retrieved 5/1/2023,  Mildred Buck Obituary (2011) - Chitina, AK - Anchorage Daily News (legacy.com)

Photo: Uncredited, undated. Fair Use.