Oscar Kawagley facts for kids

Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley (born November 8, 1934 – died April 27, 2011) was a very important person from Alaska. He was a Yup'ik person, an Indigenous group from Alaska.

Most people knew him as Oscar Kawagley. He was many things: an anthropologist (someone who studies human societies and cultures), a teacher, and an actor. He taught at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks for many years. A newspaper called him "one of Alaska's most influential teachers and thinkers." This means he had a big impact on how people thought and learned.

Oscar Kawagley's Work

Oscar Kawagley wrote a book in 1995 called A Yupiaq Worldview: a Pathway to Ecology and Spirit. In this book, he tried to connect Indigenous ways of thinking with Western science. He showed how both ways of understanding the world could help each other.

His ideas were very important for a field called ethnoecology. This is the study of how people in different cultures understand and interact with their environment. Oscar Kawagley helped explain how traditional Indigenous knowledge can teach us a lot about nature.

Acting Career

Oscar Kawagley was also an actor! He had a big role in a movie from 1991 called Salmonberries. He acted alongside a famous singer named k.d. lang.

He also appeared in a TV show called Northern Exposure. You might know his voice from the Disney movie Brother Bear (2003). He was the voice of the elderly Denahi in that film.

Filmography

Later Life

Oscar Kawagley passed away in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2011. He was 76 years old. He died from cancer.