John Fredson (born 1896, as Neetsaii
Gwich'in - August 22, 1945), was a tribal leader born near Table Mountain in the
Sheenjek River
The Sheenjek River is a tributary of the Porcupine River in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins in the eastern part of the Brooks Range and flows southward to meet the larger river northeast of Fort Yukon, Alaska, Fort Yukon.
Its name derives fro ...
watershed of the state of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
, United States. He is most noted for gaining federal recognition for the
Venetie
Venetie ( ;Corey Goldberg," ''New York Times'', 9 May 1997. ''Vįįhtąįį'' in Gwich’in), is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. At the 2010 census, the population was 166, down from 202 in 2000. It includ ...
Indian Reserve in 1941, then the largest
reservation in Alaska, and containing approximately 1.4 million acres (5,700 km). This was before Alaska was admitted as a state.
As a youth, Fredson had taken part in
Hudson Stuck
Hudson Stuck (November 4, 1863 – October 10, 1920) was a British native who became an Episcopal priest, social reformer and mountain climber in the United States. With Harry P. Karstens, he co-led the first expedition to successfully climb Den ...
's expedition to climb
Denali
Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the th ...
, and served as base camp manager. Afterward Stuck sponsored him for college, and he attended
Sewanee, The University of the South
The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...
, becoming the first
Alaska Native to graduate from college. Fredson returned to Alaska, where he worked in a hospital and as a teacher, becoming a leader and political activist.
Early life and education
Born in 1896 to a Gwich'in family near Table Mountain in what is now designated as
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, John Fredson grew up speaking
Gwich'in as his first language. Orphaned at a young age, he attended a mission school operated by the
Episcopal Church of the United States
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...
, where he learned English. From an early age, he became highly skilled in following trails, climbing and hunting.
At the age of 16, Fredson was part of the 1913 climbing expedition of
Hudson Stuck
Hudson Stuck (November 4, 1863 – October 10, 1920) was a British native who became an Episcopal priest, social reformer and mountain climber in the United States. With Harry P. Karstens, he co-led the first expedition to successfully climb Den ...
, Episcopal Archdeacon of the Yukon, who led the party that ascended
Denali
Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the th ...
, the highest peak in North America. Fredson was the
base camp
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
manager. His role is documented in Stuck's book, ''
Ascent of Denali'' (reprint 2005).
Fredson stayed at base camp for 31 days by himself, hunting
caribou
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
and
Dall sheep, while awaiting the return of the climbing party. He saved his ration of sugar for their return.
With Stuck's encouragement, Fredson gained more formal education, becoming the first native of
Athabascan
Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific Co ...
descent to complete high school.
Clara Childs Mackenzie, ''Wolf Smeller: A Biography of John Fredson, Native Alaskan''
Alaska Pacific University, 1985 He attended Sewanee, The University of the South
The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...
, an Episcopal college in Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...
, and was the first Alaska Native to graduate from a university.
While there, Fredson worked with Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir (; January 26, 1884 – February 4, 1939) was an American Jewish anthropologist-linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of the discipline of linguistics in the United States.
Sa ...
, a noted linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
, and helped to classify Gwich'in within the Na-Dene
Na-Dene (; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Haida was formerly included, but is now considered ...
language family. This work is documented in the book ''John Fredson Edward Sapir Ha'a Googwandak'' (1982), a collection of stories that Fredson told to Sapir. His work on communicating Gwich'in concepts of space and time may have also influenced Sapir's later work that established the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
The hypothesis of linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis , the Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism, is a principle suggesting that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview or cognition, and thus people' ...
.
Life's work
After his return to Alaska, Fredson worked at a hospital in Fort Yukon
Fort Yukon (''Gwichyaa Zheh'' in Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle. The population, predominantly Gwich'in Alaska Natives, was 583 at the 2010 census, down from 595 ...
. In his later years, Fredson built a solarium
Solarium may refer to:
* A sunroom, a room built largely of glass to afford exposure to the sun
* A terrace (building) or flat housetop
* The '' Solarium Augusti'', a monumental meridian line (or perhaps a sundial) erected in Rome by Emperor Augu ...
for tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
patients at the hospital. Then the only hospital in the far north, the facility was often overwhelmed by Alaska Native patients, primarily Gwich’in. They needed treatment for Eurasian infectious diseases
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
, to which they had no immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
.
Fredson taught school in the village of Venetie, and taught the community how to grow gardens. He was assisted by Chief Johnny Frank, a notable medicine man
A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremo ...
and storyteller among the Gwich'in. The chief's exploits are recounted in the book '' Neerihiinjik: We Traveled From Place to Place'' (2012).
Fredson became a tribal leader, working to re-establish his people's rights to their traditional lands. He was the primary founder of the Venetie
Venetie ( ;Corey Goldberg," ''New York Times'', 9 May 1997. ''Vįįhtąįį'' in Gwich’in), is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. At the 2010 census, the population was 166, down from 202 in 2000. It includ ...
Indian Reserve, the largest reservation in Alaska. It achieved federal recognition in 1941, before Alaska was admitted as a state. The Reserve was approximately 1.4 million acres (5,700 km) when it was established.
Family life
John married Jean Ribaloff, a woman whom he met while at the hospital in Fort Yukon. They had three children, William Burke Fredson, Virginia Fredson (Dows), and Lula Fredson (Young
Young may refer to:
* Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents
* Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood
Music
* The Young, an American roc ...
). Fredson died of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
at about age 49 on August 22, 1945.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fredson, John
1896 births
1945 deaths
20th-century Native Americans
Alaskan Athabaskan people
Schoolteachers from Alaska
Deaths from pneumonia in Alaska
Gwich'in people
Native American leaders
People from Fort Yukon, Alaska
20th-century American educators