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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 ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , 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 ...
.


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 System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stud ...
. 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 federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
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 ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , 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 ...
(then Barrow) in the 1970s. She died in 2004. In 1992
Margaret B. Blackman Margaret B. Blackman (born 1944) is an anthropologist known for her work with the Haida people, Haida First Nation of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada, beginning in the 1970s. She is, and has been for many years, a professor of anthropology ...
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) i ...
. She was the first woman elder in her
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
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.


See also

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List of first women lawyers and judges in Alaska This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Alaska. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their sta ...


References

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