William L. Iġġiaġruk Hensley was born in 1941 in Alaska to a neglectful mother and absent father. He had an abusive home life until a relative intervened and he was raised by a new family. Hensley grew up experiencing changes from traditional Inupiat culture and education to the introduction of missionaries and the Bureau of Indian Affairs school system. As an adult, Hensley became a prominent political figure in Alaska and played a key role in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. Throughout his life, Hensley remained closely connected to his Inupiat culture and identity.

1. By William L. Iġġiaġruk Hensley
Created by Anne Marie Dorcas
Athens Technical College
Human Growth and Development

2. 1941 – Present
Currently resides in
Anchorage
Political Figure
Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (ANCSA)
Signed by Nixon (1971)

3. Bought for 7.2 million in
1867
Missionaries settled in
1890’s
Granted statehood in
1959

4. Born to a neglectful mother
Absent father - Aaupialaurat
 An absent father was reasonably common
Abusive home life
A relative intervened

5.  Aġnaġaq – Fred Hensley
“was simply doing
what a good ila–-relative-–
would do”- William Hensley
 Able to appreciate his
new family
 Positively grow and
develop

6. “We knew that
cooperative effort was
imperative-only by
working together could
we survive.” - Willie Hensley
Huge support system

7. Changes in
Education
Names
 Religion
Community

8. An Iñupiat Education
Learned through
 Oral Tradition
Observation
Practice
Emphasized and respected
nature
 Allowed to participate

9. Bureau of Indian Affairs School
Learned through
 Teachers
 Formal Classrooms
 English reading and writing
 Taught materials that were not
useful to a subsistence life

10. Home sick
 Attends boarding school in
Tennessee
“I had missed years with my
family, hunting, fishing, and
trapping-skipped a great deal
of learning that could have
been of value when I became
a man.”-Willie Hensley

11. Inupiaq
Endangered Language
Important to one’s identity
Many different variations
of one form of languages

12. Exercise
 Exercise was a part of his
life from early on
Cultural Connection
 Strong cultural identity

13. Connected to Nature
Poetry
 Positive Outlet
Focused very little on the
negative

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