Sadie Neakok (March 16, 1916 – June 13, 2004) or Tagiagiña (last name pronounced ''Niaquq'' in Iñupiaq) was the first female magistrate in Alaska. She served in Alaska's Second Judicial District in

Utqiaġvik, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ; , ), formerly known as Barrow ( ), is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the world and th ...

Personal life

Her father, Charles D. Brower, was a United States Commissioner in the Alaska territory and her mother, Ahsiangatok ''(Asiaŋŋataq)'', was Iñupiaq from the Barrow area. Her father originally moved to the Alaska to work as a commercial whaler and was the first white settler there. Neakok was born in 1916. One of ten children, she was sent to San Francisco, California at the age of 14 to attend high school and then attended the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-, sea-, and space-grant research university in College, Alaska, United States, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was e ...

. After graduation, she worked first in a hospital, and then as a teacher in a

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

school and a social worker. She married Nathaniel Neakok, a whaling boat captain who also worked at the Barrow Airport, in 1940 and together they had 13 children and several foster children. , the couple had been married for over 50 years. Her oldest son, Bill, was mayor of

Utqiaġvik Utqiagvik ( ; , ), formerly known as Barrow ( ), is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough, Alaska, North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the List of northernmost ...

(then Barrow) in the 1970s. She died in 2004. In 1992 Margaret B. Blackman wrote her biography, ''Sadie Brower Neakok: An Inupiaq Woman''. In 2009, Neakok was inducted into the

Alaska Women's Hall of Fame The Alaska Women's Hall of Fame (AWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Alaska for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. It was conceived by the board of directors of the Alaska Women's Network (AWN) ...

. She was the first woman elder in her

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church.

Judicial career

She became a magistrate in Alaska's Second Judicial District when the territory gained statehood in 1958. She ran the court in both the English and Iñupiaq languages, and had to fight to allow cases to be heard in the local language when defendants did not speak English. She followed

Eben Hopson Eben Nanauq Hopson (November 7, 1922 – June 28, 1980) was an American politician in the state of Alaska. An Iñupiaq, he was born and raised in Utqiaġvik (at the time known as Barrow) and was a heavy equipment operator. Hopson served in Alas ...

, who encouraged her to take the position. Before a courthouse was built, she heard cases in her kitchen.

Inuit advocate

As a half Inupiaq, Neakok was an advocate in Alaska and in Washington DC for Inuit causes. As a child, she saw the local Naval base enforcing discriminatory segregation against the native people, inspiring her to defend them. As an adult, she served on the tribal council. In 1961, in response to what she viewed as an unjust hunting law, she helped organize

The Barrow Duck-In The Barrow Duck-In was a civil disobedience event that occurred in Utqiaġvik, Alaska (known as Barrow from 1901 to 2016), in the spring of 1961."ANCSA paved way for Alaska Natives, state to prosper together". ''Alaska Journal''. https://www.alask ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neakok, Sadie 1916 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 20th-century Inuit people 20th-century Inuit women 20th-century Alaska Native people 20th-century Native American women Alaska Native women Alaska state court judges American Inuit women Inupiat people Native American judges Native American women judges Presbyterian Church (USA) University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni

Personal life

Judicial career

Inuit advocate

See also

References