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Frank "Frankie" Akpik, Sr.

Frank Mitchak “Frankie” Akpik, Sr. was born in Barrow, Alaska in 1934. He grew up hunting and whaling, and learned to understand the sea ice and how to travel and hunt safely on it. He was married to Jeanette Brower and they had seven children. Frank worked at the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL) for over twenty years as a mechanic and carpenter, on the ice island research stations, and assisted many research projects. He was a keen observer who assisted scientific researchers by sharing what he knew about arctic animals and their environment, and became a well-respected science partner. In 1978 and 1979, he conducted oral history interviews and translated for UAF researchers Dr. Lewis Shapiro and Ron Metzner on the project Historical References to Ice Conditions Along the Beaufort Sea Coast of Alaska (Scientific Report, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1979). Frank Akpik, Sr. died on January 26, 2002.