Gwich’in elder Vera Englishoe of Fort Yukon remembered
December 19, 2019
Gwich’in elder Vera Louise (Erick) Englishoe of Fort Yukon passed away on Dec. 13,
2019, in Fairbanks. Vera was a member of the UAF community as a student, staff member
and elder. She completed the community health aide program in 1999. In 2001, she became
the administrative assistant of the Yukon Flats Center in Fort Yukon and worked there
for many years. She continued to work with the Interior-Aleutians Campus as an elder
after her retirement.
Her center coordinators and students who worked with her remember her as a combination
of recruiter, advisor, counselor and organizer. Vera believed in the ability of education,
both traditional and Western formal education, to empower people, and she helped many
students see how they could have both. She shared her wisdom freely and recorded some
of her life story with Jennie Carroll.
"Gwich'in people are very strong people. Strong mind, strong body and they don't give
up. That's what we need to think about," she told Carroll. "It's never too late to
reunite together again. It's never too late for anything. It's never too late to
get your education. You know, I heard that good many times. Be strong in your mind.
Be proud of who you are and just keep going. Make it work for yourself."
She made the Yukon Flats Center a welcoming place for people of all cultures and backgrounds
and kept us all in line. She will be greatly missed.