Jules Wright

Jules Wright was born in 1933 to Myrtle (Rose) and Arthur Wright at St. Mark's Mission in Nenana, Alaska. His Athabascan father, Arthur Wright, was born in Tanana and served as an Episcopal minister at the church in Nenana. Jule's mother, Myrtle, originally from the Lower 48, came to Nenana as a medical missionary, and is where she met and married Arthur Wright. One of seven children, Jules spent his childhood in Nenana, and when he was thirteen years old, his father died, leaving the family business, Wright Truck and Tractor, to his wife and three youngest sons. Jules finished his education in Fairbanks, graduating from Fairbanks High School. He remained in Fairbanks as a trucker for two years before serving in the United States Army stationed in Fairbanks. After leaving the army, Wright ran a construction business with his brothers, then started another company, Tundra Contracting, in 1966. Subsequently, he was involved in the mining industry for a decade, then built and operated the Manley Hot Springs Resort for eight years. In the early 1960s, Jules served as president of the Fairbanks Native Association (FNA) for three years. He has also served on the board of directors of Doyon Ltd., and in 1966 was elected to a two-year term in the Alaska State House of Representatives. Jules also worked for the Tanana Chiefs Conference as an employment rights officer. Three of Jules' brothers became well-known in their own right, including his brother, Don (1929-2014), for his work on passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 and as an early president of the Alaska Federation of Natives; his brother, Gareth (1928-2019), who was a successful dog team racer and developed the mixed breed "Aurora Husky" that has become the preferred breed of sprint dog racers today; and Al (1925- ), who became a bush pilot and owned and operated Wright Air Service out of Fairbanks. Jules Wright passed away in January 2022. For more about Jules Wright, see his obituary in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner newspaper.