How Athabascan leaders crafted the Tanana Chiefs Conference

It was a concern for their people and for future generations that united Interior tribal leaders 100 years ago this week to hold the first official meeting between Interior Alaska Natives and the U.S. government.

The 14 Athabascan men, 10 of whom were chiefs, made the trek from their villages to Fairbanks, where on July 5th and 6th, 1915, they met with a government officials led by Judge James Wickersham, the Alaska territorial delegate to the U.S. Congress. The meeting was held in the George C. Thomas Memorial Library on the waterfront of the Chena River, which today is just a few blocks away from the Tanana Chiefs Conference building...