Ada Blackjack reached Wrangel Island on September 15, 1921, as a seamstress and cook for an Arctic mission intended to claim territory for Canada. While the expedition members left or perished, she remained on the frozen landmass for eight months, surviving by trapping foxes and manufacturing her own supplies before her rescue in August 1923.
Early Life and Mission
Born Ada Delutuk in 1898 near Solomon, Alaska, she attended a Methodist mission school in Nome after her father died. She married Jack Blackjack at 16 and had three children, though only one son, Bennett, survived infancy. After a divorce and a period of financial hardship, she sought employment to fund medical treatment for her son's tuberculosis. Nome police chief E. R. Jordan recommended her to an expedition organized by Vilhjalmur Stefansson, believing her skills in sewing fur garments and her fluency in English made her an asset for the team traveling to the Chukchi Sea.
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Led by Allan Crawford, the team of five included Blackjack, Crawford, Lorne Knight, Milton Galle, and Fred Maurer. Upon arrival, the group faced declining conditions as food supplies dwindled. By January 28, 1923, the men attempted to cross the frozen sea to Siberia to seek assistance. Blackjack stayed behind to nurse an ailing Knight, who suffered from scurvy until his death on June 23, 1923. The other three men disappeared, leaving Blackjack alone with the expedition's cat, Victoria.
Survival and Aftermath
For eight months, Blackjack lived in isolation, utilizing skills to hunt foxes, build boats, and construct clothing from reindeer skin. Harold Noice rescued her on August 19, 1923. Following her return, she used her earnings to transport Bennett to Seattle for specialized care. She later remarried and had a second son, Billy. She avoided the media interest stoked by Stefansson and Noice, eventually settling in Palmer, Alaska, where she died in 1983 at the Pioneer Home. She is interred in Anchorage with a memorial plaque.
Fast facts
- Born: 1898, Solomon, Alaska
- Died: 1983, Palmer, Alaska
- Burial location: Anchorage
- Expedition arrival date: 15 September 1921
- Expedition rescue date: 19 August 1923
- Occupation: Explorer, seamstress, cook
- Citizenship: United States
Questions readers ask
Why did Ada Blackjack join the expedition?
She needed money to pay for her son Bennett's tuberculosis treatment.
Did she receive profit from the expedition?
She received her salary and a few hundred dollars from fur trapping but no compensation from books written about the event.
Achievements
- Recorded as explorer
