In Memoriam: Verner Wilson III (1986-2023)

YGSNA mourns the passing of Verner Wilson III (Yup’ik of the Curyung Tribe), who left us far too soon at the age of 36 on March 23, 2023. Verner was a tireless Alaska Native environmental activist who dedicated his life to protecting salmon, advancing Alaska Native subsistence rights, and resisting mining projects that threatened the waters of Bristol Bay.

 

Raised in Dillingham in western Alaska, Verner graduated from Brown University in 2008 with a degree in Environmental Studies, and went on to earn a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment in 2015. While at Yale, Verner was an active member of YGSNA and built coalitions through the Indigenous Graduate Network. 

 

Verner had a remarkable gift for connecting local Alaskan environmental struggles with national and international movements. His advocacy took him as far as London, where he personally delivered petitions signed by over 100,000 Alaska Natives and allies opposing the Pebble Mine to Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll. In Alaska, he worked with the Bristol Bay Native Association, Friends of the Earth, and the World Wildlife Fund to defend Native rights and the health of the environment.

 

During his time at Yale, Verner co-authored and signed petitions on campus—including one concerning NAGPRA and the repatriation of Tlingit remains from the 1899 Harriman Expedition. He was also a regular presence at Native American Cultural Center events and even at Yale ice hockey games, where he built friendships and inspired peers.

 

Verner’s legacy continues in the many Alaska Native activists he mentored and inspired. His example reminds us of the power of connecting local struggles to global networks of solidarity.