There was a nice piece today on the late Sen. Inouye written by Inuit elder William L. Iggiagruk Hensley, who served the Alaska Legislature for 10 years. Willie recalls meeting Sen. Inouye on a four-day trip the Senator made to Alaska in 1988, when he toured conditions in the small community villages populated mainly by Native Alaskans. The tour was planned by the president of the Alaska Federation of Natives. 

Willie notes that “Sen. Inouye embodied the spiritual essence of a wise leader watching over his people” for Alaska Natives and American Indians. Sen. Inouye’s role as “security blanket” in the American Indian world seems especially poignant in light of today’s assignment of his replacement Brian Schatz to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Willie also remembers Sen. Inouye’s spiritual side, noting “how proud he was to tell me that wherever he went, the rain stopped.” Overall it’s an interesting perspective on “Alaska’s third Senator.”