Willie Hensley was instrumental in the creation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which became law 50 years ago this month. He is currently the Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Business and Public Policy at UAA. He also helped found and headed, both the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Northwest Alaskan Natives Association (NANA), an ANCSA regional corporation encompassing his home community of Kotzebue. Willie received his high school diploma from a boarding school in Tennessee, attended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, and then graduated with a degree in Political Science from George Washington University. Months after he graduated, he was elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives, where he served from 1967-1970. He also served twice in the Alaska Senate. His book Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People recounts his childhood growing up in rural Alaska and his journey as an Alaskan politician and native rights activist. Willie and his wife Abbe have six children and fourteen grandchildren.

For more,

https://business.uaa.alaska.edu/directory/profile?id=26

and see CV at

https://business.uaa.alaska.edu/directory/documents/cv/hensley_w-141500.pdf

Note: There are several "dropouts" due to bad internet connection.