FIFTY MILES FROM TOMORROW, A Memoir of Alaska And The Real People, by William L. Iggiagruk Hensley (1st Ed. SIGNED)

Author: William L. Iggiagruk Hensley. Published by Picador, New York, NY., 2009, 1st Edition. Ultra Rare: FLAT SIGNED by the Author on his bio page above his photograph! Printed in USA. Almost New Condition SOFTCOVER Book. Clean inside, tight spine. Size: 8.5 x 5.5 inch, 256 pages including index.

FIFTY MILES FROM TOMORROW, A Memoir of Alaska And The Real People, by William L. Iggiagruk Hensley, is not only the memoir of one man; it is a testament to the resilience of the Alaskan Ilitqusiat—Native Spirit.

As a young man growing up on the shores of Kotzebue Sound, twenty-nine miles north of the Arctic Circle, William L. Iggiagruk Hensley learned to live the way his ancestors had for thousands of years. He absorbed the old stories and sayings, the threads of wisdom passed down through the generations. Though Hensley eventually left Alaska behind to pursue his education in the continental United States, he carried with him the hardiness, the good humor, and the tenacity that had helped his people flourish on the wild tundra.

In 1971, after years of Hensley's tireless lobbying, the United States conveyed forty-four million acres and earmarked nearly $1 billion for use by Alaska's native peoples. The law insured that all the American Indians of Alaska would be compensated for the incursion of the U.S. government upon their way of life. Unlike their relatives to the south, the Alaskan peoples would be able to take charge of their economic and political destiny in the twentieth century and beyond. The landmark decision did not come overnight. Neither was it the work of any one man. But it was Hensley who gave voice to the cause and made it real

"This year Alaska celebrates its 50th anniversary, so it's no coincidence that Alaska native William Iggiagruk Hensley has penned a story of his life, from growing up as an orphan in Kotzebue to living though the era of the pipeline that brought wealth to the state and economic support to the native tribes that inhabit it . . . The book offers an interesting glimpse of the first half-century of Alaska statehood."—Susan Gilmore, The Seattle Times