Emmett Oliver, 1913-2016. Photo from Facebook
Emmett Oliver, the oldest member of the Quinault Nation of Washington, died on Monday. He was 102. Oliver, who was born in 1913, was a veteran who served in World War II and the Korean War. The beloved educator started the Paddle to Seattle in 1989, an event that led to the Tribal Canoe Journeys that continue today. “Emmett will be dearly missed. He achieved so much in his life and leaves a legacy that will truly last forever,” Quinault Nation President Fawn Sharp said in a press release. “He was a United States Coast Guard Commander, an educator, in and out of the classroom, an equal rights activist and a cultural icon. He was known and loved by thousands of people, near and far, and will be remembered as a man who gave of himself throughout his life, always with the objective of helping others foremost in his mind." During his long career in education, Oliver directed Indian Student Center at University of California Los Angeles, directed the Indian Student Program at the University of Washington and served as supervisor of Indian Education for the state of Washington. He also was the chairman of the Bay Area Native American Committee, the group that pushed for the occupation of Alcatraz from November 1969 through June 1971. Get the Story:
Emmett Oliver, Founder of Paddle to Seattle, Walks On at 102 (Indian Country Today 3/8)
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