Biography
Alisha Drabek is an American author, artist, and Alutiiq ethnographer raised on Kodiak Island, including three summers living on a fishing boat as a child. She, her husband, and two of their three sons now live on Kaua’i. Alisha earned her BA in English (1994) and MFA in Creative Writing (1996) from U of Arizona Tucson; and her PhD in Indigenous Studies (2012) from U of Alaska Fairbanks. She serves on the See Stories nonprofit board, empowering youth to share local histories through filmmaking and podcasts in Alaska.
Alisha (also known as Agisaq) has published several children's books, including the American Book Award-winning Red Cedar of Afognak, Iqsani’s Trout Hook, and numerous nonfiction works.
Photo courtesy Ten Trees Production, Karen Weinberg; clip from the documentary Keep Talking: Language is Life, 2014
Heritage
Alisha Drabek was born and raised on Kodiak Island to Alaska Native, Native American, French-Canadian, Nordic, Celtic, and Slavic parents: Anthony Drabek and Kathleen (Carlson) Drabek. Alisha is a Tribal Member of the Native Village of Afognak. Her father Tony Drabek retired from 26 years as President & CEO of Natives of Kodiak, after serving as a fisherman, carpenter, and building inspector in Kodiak, and as a U.S. Army aviator in Vietnam. Her mother Kathy Drabek retired after serving as an architectural designer, program manager, and Port of Kodiak office manager. For three summers, they lived and worked in Uyak Bay aboard a WWII scow turned into a salmon tender, when Alisha was ages 6-8. History, heritage, and story play a central role in Alisha's creative arts, inspired by her ancestors.
Photo of paternal great-great-grandparents Evdokia & Paul Naumoff at their Uyak Bay summer sod house where they fished for salmon each summer
Magnhild “Magnel” (Larsen) Drabek
Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson
Magnhild “Magnel” (Larsen) Drabek
Her paternal grandmother Magnhild “Magnel” (Larsen) Drabek grew up in Afognak, AK, raised by her Alutiiq, Tlingit, Russian mother Olga (Naumoff) Larsen, and Norwegian father Louis Larsen from Alesund, Norway. Alzeheimer's silenced Magnel's voice when Alisha was a child. Alisha's connection to her Grandma Maggie significantly contributed to her identity and tireless pursuit of Alutiiq stories.
Henry "Hank" Alvin Drabek
Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson
Magnhild “Magnel” (Larsen) Drabek
Her paternal grandfather Henry "Hank" Drabek grew up on his family's farm in Springville, NY with 11 siblings, raised by their Prussian Jewish mother Anna (Darszewski) Drabek and Bohemian father Anthony Drabek from Zator, Poland. Hank served in WWII and the Korean War aboard warships in the Pacific, fought as a boxer, worked as a security guard, and retired to care for his wife Magnel and garden.
Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson
Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson
Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson
Her maternal grandmother Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson of Sedro Woolley, WA, was raised by her Tsimshian, Iroquois, Nordic, and French-Canadian mother Jo Pauline (Iverson / Felt) Ingram of Camano Is, adopted by Swedish parents at two. Virginia's father Alfred Popplewell, son of Irish, English immigrants to Sacramento, CA, worked as
Her maternal grandmother Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson of Sedro Woolley, WA, was raised by her Tsimshian, Iroquois, Nordic, and French-Canadian mother Jo Pauline (Iverson / Felt) Ingram of Camano Is, adopted by Swedish parents at two. Virginia's father Alfred Popplewell, son of Irish, English immigrants to Sacramento, CA, worked as a chef in hotels and at sea. “Ginny” was a seamstress and painter.
Chester Garhardt Carlson
Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson
Virginia Viola (Popplewell) Carlson
Her maternal grandfather Chester Garhardt Carlson grew up in Bellingham, WA with his three brothers, raised by their Norwegian parents John Peter Carlson of Breivik, Norway, and Johanne Marie (Dahl Magnussen) Carlson of Boda. A commercial fisherman, he relocated to Kodiak. He drowned in Lake Union after being knocked unconscious, robbed, and rolled into the harbor when Alisha's mother was age 15.