Annie Aghnaqa (Akeya) Alowa facts for kids
Annie Aghnaqa (Akeya) Alowa (born June 25, 1924 – died February 19, 1999) was an important Yup'ik elder from Alaska. She was a strong leader who fought for the health and rights of indigenous peoples. Annie Alowa was also a traditional healer and an environmental activist. She helped start the Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT). In 2016, she was honored in the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.
Early Life
Annie Alowa was born in 1924 in Savoonga. This village is on St. Lawrence Island, about 40 miles from Russia. Her parents were Horst and Olga Akeya. Annie had eight brothers and sisters.
Family and Learning
Annie first married Jackson in 1944, but he passed away the next year. In 1945, she married Nelson Alowa. They had eight children together.
During summers, the family lived at a camp called Tamniq. There, they hunted and trapped. Annie was very skilled at sewing traditional animal skins. She also made beautiful dolls. She enjoyed sewing and picking berries in her free time.
Annie believed that education was very important. Even at the summer camp, her children always did their schoolwork. Annie taught them herself. She also continued her own learning. From 1955 to 1956, she trained to be a midwife with Harriet Penayah. Later, she received hospital training in Kotzebue.
Fighting for Her Community
In 1952, the U.S. Air Force built a base at Northeast Cape on St. Lawrence Island. Annie worked for the Air Force from 1963 to 1970. During this time, she also volunteered as a health aide. She worked as a health aide and traditional healer for 13 years.
In 1971, Annie continued her medical training. She joined the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) in Nome. Before phones came to St. Lawrence Island, health aides helped people on their own. They delivered babies and treated injuries. Later, phones allowed them to talk to doctors in Nome.
The U.S. military left the base in Northeast Cape in 1972. They left behind a lot of waste and harmful materials. Over the next 30 years, Annie saw health problems in her community. She believed these problems were linked to the military waste. People started getting cancer, and there were more miscarriages. Animals also died from eating plants with toxins. Reindeer even got trapped and died because of the waste.
Annie kept asking the government for help. She wanted the base cleaned up. For a long time, she had no success. Then, in 1997, she met Pamela Miller. Annie and Pamela worked together. They went to the site with Greenpeace. They took pictures and collected samples of the environment.
In 1998, Pamela Miller started the Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT). This group helped them meet with Colonel Sheldon Jahn. They asked him to clean up the site. Annie kept speaking up about the issue. Because of her efforts, Northeast Cape became a top priority for cleanup. By 2016, over $123 million had been spent on cleaning the site. Annie traveled to Anchorage many times to share her story. She fought for environmental justice in Northeast Cape.
Legacy
Annie Alowa passed away on February 19, 1999, at age 74. She had liver cancer and breast cancer. She kept fighting for her community until the very end.
After she passed, filmmaker Jean Riordan made a documentary. It was called "I Will Fight Until I Melt." This film included Annie's interviews and showed the island. It also showed the Northeast Cape dumping ground.
In 2016, Annie Alowa was added to the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. She fought for over 20 years to clean up the waste site. Her hard work led to millions of dollars being spent on cleanup. Many people are still inspired by Annie's work. They continue to fight for justice and human rights. Annie Alowa was a quiet person, but she was strong and determined. She left a lasting impact on her community and beyond.
