Velma Wallis
Velma May Wallis (born 1959) is a Native American writer of Gwich'in Athabascan Indian descent. Her books have been translated into 17 languages. Early life. She was born and raised in a remote Alaskan village near Fort Yukon, approximately northeast of Fairbanks. This location could be accessed only by riverboat, airplane, snowmobile or dogsled. Velma grew up among 12 siblings. Her father died when she was 13 years old, and she stayed out of school to help her mother with the household. She later went on to receive her GED. Independence. About 12 miles away from the village , her father had built a small cabin in the wilderness. He had been a hunter and trapper. Some time after his death around 1973, Velma surprised her family and friends by leaving home and living in the cabin for some years. She perfected her trapping, fishing and hunting skills and lived on what she could provide for herself. At one point her mother joined her during the summer to teach her more traditional skills. In this area, where the Porcupine River flows into the Yukon River, Velma Wallis lived an independent lifestyle. These experiences led to write her first book , "Two Old Women", which astonished her publisher by selling 1.5 million copies worldwide. Personal life. Velma Wallis, who has three daughters and a son, now divides her time between Fairbanks and Fort Yukon.