Project:
Effie Kokrine
Effie Kokrine was a respected Athabascan Elder and long-time resident of Fairbanks, Alaska. She was born in a camp on the Tanana River on March 23, 1919, and moved to Fairbanks with her husband, Andy Kokrine, in 1949. She was an avid dog-musher who won the Women's North American Sled Dog Championships in 1946 and 1947. She was a dedicated educator, teaching Athabascan culture to Fairbanks school children. To them, she was known as "Grandma Effie." After living in Fairbanks for many years, Effie Kokrine passed away in 2001 in her home village of Tanana at the age of 82. For more about Effie Kokrine, see this article in the Peninsula Clarion newspaper. In 2013, Effie's daughter, Annette Freiburger, completed her master's degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks with her thesis titled: "The Life History of Effie Kokrine Through Personal Recordings."