Charlie Johnson, Alaska Native scientist, passes on at 72

Tuesday, April 17, 2012  

Charlie Johnson, an Alaska Native leader and scientist, died last Thursday. He was 72.

Johnson, who was Inupiat, held a number of science and leadership positions. He was former president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and a former executive with Alaska Native corporations.

He also reached across international borders and connected Alaska Natives with their relatives in Russia. He helped set up the historic Friendship Flight in 1988.

"No meeting with Charlie ever happened without a good laugh and a real sense of purpose. Charlie accomplished a great deal for Alaska," Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell (R), who helped with the flight, said in a press release, The Anchorage Daily News reported.

Get the Story:
Nome Native leader Charlie Johnson dies of heart failure (The Anchorage Daily News 4/17)