'Peaceful
Warrior'
Joseph Clark
Joseph Lance Clark, 80, of Clarks Point, died Oct. 14, 2005, at Alaska Native Medical Center with his wife, Lena Helen Clark, at his bedside.
A visitation and Orthodox service officiated by Father Michael Oleksa was held Oct. 18 in Anchorage. Some 200 mourners attended Oct. 20 services in Clarks Point that preceded his burial at the Clarks Point Cemetery and a community potluck at the school.
Widely recognized as a respected elder and leader in Southwest Alaska, Mr. Clark was the longest serving member of the Bristol Bay Native Association's Board of Directors, serving more than 25 years in that capacity. He served as a commissioner of the Bristol Bay Housing Authority from 1983 until his death.
Born May 15, 1925, at Old Chefornak, he was raised in Moroya and Bethel. His birth parents were the late John Dull Sr. and Helen Kituralria, and his adoptive parents were the late Alexander Kiayaksuk and Elena Clark. He was given as an infant to the Clarks in exchange for Kiayaksuk's helping John Dull become a trader.
He attended the territorial school. As a teen, he herded reindeer by dogsled.
Mr. Clark interpreted and translated Yupik and English. He was a Bristol Bay commercial salmon fisherman from the 1940s to 2002, the Clark's Point Cannery winter watchman for 50 years and a subsistence hunter and fisherman for most of his life. He ran the Clark's Point power plant.
Mr. Clark earned the honorific title "peaceful warrior" for his people for his public service, including serving on the board of Bristol Bay Native Corp. and as Clark's Point mayor.
In 2004, he received the Alaska Federation of Natives' award for Elder of the Year.
His family wrote: "He never raised his voice or treated anyone but with the utmost respect. His continued practice of subsistence activities and promotion of those activities to others in the region was an example to us all to preserve our culture and way of life. Joe was a resource of the Bay, far more valuable than any fish, mineral or oil."
He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Clara Knutsen Clark; sons, Kay John and Samuel Ross; brothers, Teddy Clark, John Dull Jr., Billy Dull and Arthur Dull; and sisters, Anastasia Clark, Annie Dull and Mary Clark.
Mr. Clark is survived by his wife, Lena Clark; children, Robert, Richard, Carol Ann, Sharon, Helen, Mary Alice, Anthony, Fern and Joel; stepchildren, Gale, Cheryl and Bill Lyons Jr.; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; and brother, Clarence Dull of Sitka.