Percy Jackson

Percy Jackson was born in reindeer camp on April 27, 1923 to Frank Jackson and Clara Mulluk Jackson. His family's camp was located up Squirrel River, just around the bend from Kiana. His parents herded reindeer until their animals eventually wandered off with passing caribou. Percy has one brother, Elmer, and five sisters: Lucy, Rachel (Adams), Ruth (Downey), Flora (Green) and Edna (Samuel). They spent from June to September in camp about 12 miles up the Kobuk River and would return to the village each fall for the school year. Percy attended school up to the 6th grade when he was given a choice to continue. He decided he did not want to go away for further schooling and, instead, chose to stay in his community to hunt and take care of family needs. Richard Glover taught him many valuable hunting and survival skills. Percy always enjoyed hunting and in summer would go after caribou, bear and sometimes sheep. Sometimes hunting would take him as far away as the Noatak Valley. He enjoyed being out hunting so much that he never missed home when he was out in the country. In 1944, Percy married Rosaline Sheldon, who was raised by Annie Hasway, though her real mother was Alice Sheldon. Together Percy and Rosaline had twelve children: six boys and six girls. As an adult, Percy held several different jobs and was able to see some distant places. He worked in mining operations at Klery Creek (above Kiana), on a barge for B&R, mining in Candle, and constructing the DEW Line along Alaska's coast. Later, he worked seasonally for many years mining in Fairbanks and working as a winchman on a dredge in Livengood. He also worked in Big Delta for about six months and helped install the Kiana water and sewer line in 1971. Percy became a member of the Regional Elders' Council when it first began, and traveled to Greenland in 1989 and 1999 as a representative of his community.