Marie Smith Jones, the last known speaker of Eyak, died on Monday. She was 89.
Jones was known as a strong advocate for Native rights. Though she dropped out of school in the fourth grade, she fought to protect natural resources, for the repatriation of ancestors and for indigenous rights on the international level.
"My mom had more spunk," daughter Bernice Galloway told The Anchorage Daily News. "And don't get in her way when she makes up her mind about something."
Jones became the last fluent speaker when her sister died in 1992.
Get the Story:Last Native speaker of Eyak dies at 89 (The Anchorage Daily News 1/23)
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