Linda Charlie
Linda
Charlie was born August 4, 1919, at Old Minto. Her father’s name was Charlie,
she says that he was well know by "Little Charlie". She thinks that
her father’s last name was Albert, she doesn’t really know where he
was from. "What he was small his mother died, some people they say he comes
from Tanana, some say he comes from Nenana, so I really don’t know where."
Her mother was Agnes Charlie of Minto. Linda had sisters only, their names are:
Gloria, Ellen, Rosie, Evelyn, and Miney.
Linda is married to Cerosky Charlie. Together they had twelve children: Gloria,
Helen, Gisberg, Pauline, Kenny, Larry, Calvin, Levi, Randy, Eleanor, Bobby,
and Vincent. Her son Kenny served in the Army for four years in Germany.
Linda speaks the Tanana Athabascan dialect. When asked what kind of education
did she have she replied, "Nothing at all! Just the Indian way, there was
no school, just Nenana Mission when I was a kid. It was always full there, if
you signed up two years ahead of time you might have a chance to go there."
Linda has worked many jobs, most importantly, being a mother to her many children.
In the old village, she worked as a substitute cook. After moving to the new
village, she also worked as a cook. She taught the bilingual class at the school
for five years. She has even worked as a laborer on the water and sewer project
at the new village.
Linda enjoys sewing and when she was younger she enjoyed working. "I used
to like to talk with old people, I liked to listen to them. When I was young
I lived with my parents, but I liked my grandma so much that I ended up living
with her. I learned my language from her, many things that she taught me come
back to me."
Linda hopes and prays for the kids of Minto. She encourages them to get an education,
and to learn from their grandparents.
"Listen to old people when they talk, try to learn the language so that the kids can understand both ways."
Biography courtesy of Denakkanaaga Elder-Youth Conference, June 5-9, 2000 - Minto, Alaska
Page by David Frank - Class of 2004 - Minto High School
