Ada Blackjack: The Real Robinson Crusoe

Ada Blackjack: the real Robinson Crusoe

An Alaskan Inupiat woman named Ada Blackjack was hired in 1921 as a cook and seamstress, to go on an expedition to Russia’s Wrangel Island, north of Siberia. The hope was to claim it for Canada. Four men plus Ada set out. And they reached the island! Unfortunately, the expedition was poorly planned. They soon ran out of rations and were unable to trap enough animals to eat. So, on January 28th, 1923 three men decided to try crosssing 700 miles across the frozen Chukchi Sea to Siberia for help and food. The left behind Ada and one other man who was sick with scurvey. She cared for him until he died, and then Ada was left alone, on a Siberian island, with just the expedition’s cat, Vic.

The three men were never heard from again. But Ada survived. She learned to live in the extreme freezing conditions for seven months! Ada was rescued on August 19th, 1923 by a former colleague of the expedition’s leader. She made no money on the subsequent publicity and books, just her pay for the expedition and a couple hundred dollars from the furs she trapped while on the island. Ada returned to Alaska and lived there till her death at the age of 85.

Net Neutrality

Net neutrality. I'm sure you've heard those powerful words before, but you may not know what they mean. Basically, net neutrality ensures that you have equal access to the internet, and that your service provider cannot make one site slower, or block a site all together. Without net neutrality, you'll be seeing a lot more loading signs and a lot less of what you want. Click the link below for more information, and to write a comment to the FCC about why net neutrality needs to stay! https://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-what-you-need-know-now

Some ways to be patriotic today:

- Take a moment to read about the history of Native Americans, their beautiful and varied pre-colonisation societies, and their gradual extermination by white planters, frontiersmen and the US military.

- Consider putting those fireworks away for the evening, as many veterans who have returned home from far-away battlefields with PTSD report Independence Day celebrations can act as a trigger.

- Do something worthwhile to turn America into the place you want it to be: talk to your neighbours about how to solve a problem in your hood, join a workplace union, donate to Planned Parenthood.

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