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Surviving the Arctic Alone: The True Story of Iñupiat Heroine Ada Blackjack

Surviving the Arctic Alone The True Story of Inupiat Heroine Ada Blackjack

Meghan Marino, Assistant Manager, Wiley

December 05, 2022

In 1921, Ada Blackjack departed on an arctic expedition with the role of seamstress, seeking to earn enough money to care for her son. Little did she know that her role would soon involve cutting firewood, setting traps, and hunting in attempts to save a dying crewmate. She lived for two years on Wrangel Island, two months of which were in complete isolation before being rescued as the sole survivor of the fated expedition.

Ada Blackjack (née Ada Deletuk) was an Iñupiat woman raised in Alaska amongst Methodist missionaries. Instead of hunting, Ada was taught English, how to read and write, pray, and cook “white people’s food.” Ada bore three children, two who had died, and the third, Bennett, who suffered from tuberculosis. Eventually deserted by her husband and living in poverty, Ada Blackjack received news of an opportunity to join a crew of four setting off to Wrangel Island. The one-year contract would provide $50 a month, a well-paid sum that could change her life.

Vilhjalmur Stefansson

How the expedition of Wrangel Island came to be

According to Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Wrangel Island was one of the best fur-trapping, walrus and seal hunting locations in the Arctic. Raising funds of his own, he assembled a crew of four men to claim the island for the British Empire: Allan Crawford, Errol Lorne Knight, Fred Maurer, and Milton Galle. He recruited families of indigenous Alaskans, though none showed up to set sail except for Ada Blackjack.

From the collection: P. M. Wordie, V. Stefansson, et al., Correspondence Blocks, April 27, 1921- October 8,1923. (Available to view via institutional or trial access)

Wrangle Island

A Change of Plans and a Last-Ditch Effort

At the end of September 1922, a year into the expedition, morale was low after the crew’s relief ship failed to arrive. 

An unusually harsh winter left behind thick pack ice that wasn’t resolved through the summer months that typically allowed safe passage for ships. This meant that the crew would have to extend their food stores until next summer. Stefansson had provided the crew with 6 months-worth of food for a one-year contract, claiming that hunting opportunities would easily extend the food supply. Though, in the following months, there was scarce, almost nonexistent game. Food stores dwindled, and the crew was forced to issue rations.

A final decision was made: sending three men would provide a better chance for survival while also alleviating the severe food shortage at camp. Immobilized by scurvy, Knight was left behind with Blackjack as Crawford, Maurer, and Galle headed across the sea ice towards Siberia to search for relief. The three would never be seen again.

 

Knight Diary

“Wrangling Wrangel Island:” The Call for Survival

Ada’s job changed from seamstress to provider and caregiver as she taught herself to chop wood and check traps for foxes in an effort to save her crewmember. On February 7, 1923, Knight wrote, “She insists on doing practically everything, and I willingly permit her, for I am not able to do much.” 

Though terrified of gunfire, she taught herself how to shoot, even building a gun rest out of driftwood to help mitigate the rifle’s recoil.[1] Ada carried on the work of four men while dealing with starvation and sometimes bedridden from crippling symptoms of her own.

Despite her efforts, on June 23 of 1923, Knight passed away. Ada Blackjack was left to fend off the harshness and isolation of Wrangel Island alone; but Ada didn’t give up: she began to write a diary as her crewmates had done, hunted birds and seals, reinforced the camp for the upcoming winter, mended her winter gear that was worn down, and even made a pair of slippers to give to her son, Bennett. Her determination was fueled by an unacceptable thought: ‘I will not let Bennett have stepmother’.[2]

On August 20, 1923, relief had arrived – a skin boat was headed towards shore to bring Ada home.

From the collection: Arthur R. Hinks, E. L. Knight, 1921-1923. (Available to view via institutional or trial access)

The Hero of the Arctic
Ada Blackjack came home to a swarm of press. Praised as an arctic hero, she was a local celebrity – though the fame was unwelcomed and she tried to escape it. Ada Blackjack did not have the happy ending she deserved: though cured of his tuberculosis, her son Bennett Blackjack battled with sickness for the remainder of his life, passing away from a stroke at the age of 58. Ada lived most of her life unable to work due to her own poor health and became a forgotten heroine with time.

Ada’s strength, however, is worthy of remembrance: her perseverance to overcome her fears allowed her to adapt to a harsh environment. The unconditional love for her son fueled a fierce determination to survive. Her strength to carry on the work of four men was an inspiration during the early 20th century, a time when women in America were fighting for equal rights. Despite many hardships, she lived to the ripe age of 85. And, when Ada Blackjack passed, she was buried right where she wanted to be: next to her son, Bennett.

The Wrangel Island Expedition is one of many expeditions covered in Wiley Digital Archives. Explore the diary of Errol Lorne Knight and a unique variety of manuscripts, photographs, maps, and correspondence with a free trial.

[1] Niven, Jennifer. Ada Blackjack, A true story of survival in the Arctic, Reprint Edition. New York: Hachette Books, 2004.

[2] Niven, Jennifer. Ada Blackjack, A true story of survival in the Arctic, Reprint Edition. New York: Hachette Books, 2004.

 

 

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