Crow Village Sam facts for kids
Crow Village Sam (born Phillips; 1893 – 1974) was an Alaskan Native leader. He was a member of the Yup'ik people, who are a group of Indigenous people living in western and southwestern Alaska. Sam lived in the middle part of the Kuskokwim River valley in Alaska.
Early Life and Challenges
Crow Village Sam was born in Crow Village, Alaska, around 1893. We know this date because he told an archeologist named Wendell H. Oswalt in 1963. Official birth records were not kept in that area until 1914.
When Sam was about 10 years old, his village had to move. They went to a new settlement downriver called New Crow Village. Today, this new place is simply called Crow Village, and the original site is known as Old Crow Village.
Sam also survived a very serious sickness called the kanukpuk, or "big sickness." This was a type of influenza that spread in the Kuskokwim region in the early 1900s. It was so severe that it wiped out about half of the population. Sam also lived in other villages like Akiak and Chuathbaluk.
A Respected Leader
By the 1940s, Crow Village Sam was seen as an important leader among the Native people in the mid-Kuskokwim valley. He was very skilled at many things. He built boats, worked with wood, and made snowshoes.
One of his biggest strengths as a leader was that he spoke English very well. This helped him communicate and work with others.
Moving the Village
In 1954, Crow Village Sam led the people of Crow Village to move again. This time, they went upstream to Chuathbaluk. Chuathbaluk was a village about 18 miles away that had been empty since 1929.
Even after moving, Crow Village Sam kept a special camp at the old Crow Village site. He had a large smokehouse there for drying fish. Later, he even set up a wind-powered generator at Crow Village to power his radio! Sam loved fishing for food and had the biggest fish smokehouse in Chuathbaluk too.
Family and Legacy
Crow Village Sam was married three times. Each time his wife passed away, he would marry again. Interestingly, all three of his wives were named Lucy. He had at least seven children with his first wife.
Because he spoke English so well, Sam was able to officially gain ownership of the land around Crow Village. This happened after the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was passed in 1971. This act was important because it gave Native Alaskans rights to their traditional lands.
Crow Village Sam passed away in 1974 at the age of 81. Living to 81 was quite remarkable for someone in his culture during that time. To honor him, the grade school in Chuathbaluk, built in 1969, was renamed the Crow Village Sam School in 1991.
