'Uncle Ted: Pugnacious political papa'

Frankly, discussing the decade following Alaska statehood, and beyond, is impossible without mentioning Ted Stevens and Willie Iggiagruk Hensley. The Anchorage Press this week has posted an essay by Hensley about his memory of Stevens' role in Hensley's own political career, as well as an intimate look at senator's role addressing the complex issues facing Alaska Natives during and after statehood. Hensley sets the scene by recalling how directionless he was before he met Stevens:

Forty-eight years ago, in the month of August in 1962, I met Ted Stevens in my home village of Kotzebue. I had decided not to return to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks that fall and was working for B and R Tug and Barge, owned by Edith Bullock, a former Republican territorial legislator. I had absolutely no concept of politics. Just nine years earlier, our family was living in a sod house twelve miles up the coast at Ikkatuq. I was trying to decide what to do with my life and Stevens was trying to set his course in life by running for the United States Senate.

The essay continues by giving a rather long, close-up perspective on the alphabet soup of federal legislation and petroleum projects created during Stevens and Hensley's prime, particularly as those milestones affected Alaska Natives. Summarizing Hensley's piece -- which surely stands as one of the most complex portraits of Stevens' legacy written since the senator's death -- is impossible in this space, so read much more, here. If you're interested in Alaska history at all, some elements may be familiar, but you shouldn't miss it.