Ernest Sipes
Encyclopedia
Ernest Sipes is an author and researcher living in Saudi Arabia
and a specialist on the Indigenous Peoples
of the United States
, Canada
, Russia
and the Brazilian Amazon Basin
. Sipes has also published on the impact of progressive Napoleonic era French
political and social reforms reproduced by Russia
in Alaska
.
on October 14, 1957. He was raised in North Pole, Alaska
. Sipes' father served in World War II
as a Drill Instructor
in the United States Army
. Sipes' mother died in 1967, and his father remarried in 1969.
Sipes grew up with Athabascans and Inuit
Natives. He is known as one of a very few non G'wichin Indians
to have lived on the Venetie Indian Reservation
in the 1990s. While living on the reservation he was noted as having some abilities as a hunter, harvesting bear and moose with tribesmen from the village. He worked as a Mental Health Counselor in Fairbanks, Alaska for over 16 years, was briefly employed in the State of Alaska Department of Administration and has since been working as an English teacher in Saudi Arabia.
Sipes was married in 2000 to a member of the Wai-Wai tribe from NE Brasil. He was divorced in 2008. He currently lives in Saudi Arabia.
. He graduated from college with a B.A. in British Literature from Brigham Young University in 1991. Sipes completed a teaching degree while attending Brigham Young and taught high school
English Literature
courses in Hawaii
and was a substitute teacher in Alaska during the 1990s.
in 1988 while attending Brigham Young University
, which involved field work. While surveying in the Makaha Valley he discovered several burial mounds of ancient Hawaii
ans which were reported to the University of Hawaii Manoa.
to Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon and ascended the river 200 miles. On this expedition, Sipes was by all accounts the first outsider to paddle up the Camanai River, where after contacting the Waimiri-Atroari Indians
he was forced to leave the tribal area. In March, 1999 Sipes made the first documented attempt to walk overland between the two major rivers of South America, namely the Amazonas
(Solimoes) and Rio Negro river systems. After six days and walking thirty miles, east of the Japura River
he contracted Dengue Fever
in a swamp
and abandoned the trek. In May, 2000 he and his Wai Wai wife Marineth (Natchee) and a two man crew attempted to enter Guyana
from the south by traveling north on the Mapura River, but were stopped by waterfalls when the boat swamped near the equator
. In February, 2002 he contacted the Pacaja Indians off the Xingu River
which was documented in Brazzil magazine in 2004.
to research the ancient caravan
routes of northwest Egypt
in 2001, 2003, 2004 and in March 2008. He led approximately ten overland expeditions from Siwa
to the various abandoned oases in the western desert, documenting the sites for publication. In May 2004 he is reported to have walked alone from the Egyptian border several miles into Libya
following a camel track while searching for an unnamed abandoned oasis after his Bedouin guide refused to accompany him due the possibility of arrest.
District of the Ubangui River and the Ibenga River in the Republic of Congo. At the time of this trip several different factions of rebels were active along the Ubangui River, which constitutes the border between the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic
. Little information is available about this remote area which is not accessible by road. In 2006, Mr. Sipes worked for the United States Embassy in the Republic of Congo preparing two security reports. The first report documented security issues in the Likoluala District between ROC and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was completed under the direction of U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Mark Beidlingmaier. In the second report, prepared at the request of then U.S. Ambassador Robert Weisberg, Sipes completed the first English language security report on the CFCO railroad operating between Point Noire and Brazzaville.
n invasion of the South Ossetian War. While in the country he was in the town of Gori at the time of the pull-out of the Russian army and wrote an article documenting the event for Georgia Today, Georgia's largest circulation English language journal.
and South American Indians. Sipes has pioneered several areas of research focusing on Indigenous Peoples
. He has also published original research in 1998 and 2007 which documented the impact of the institution of serfdom
as applied to Alaskan Natives by the Russians
. In 2003, Sipes produced the first scholarly account of the current living conditions and conducted limited anthropological fieldwork with the Poticru Tribe of the Xingu River
.
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and a specialist on the Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the Brazilian Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
. Sipes has also published on the impact of progressive Napoleonic era French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
political and social reforms reproduced by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Personal life
Ernest Sipes was born in Fairbanks, AlaskaFairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
on October 14, 1957. He was raised in North Pole, Alaska
North Pole, Alaska
North Pole is a small city in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Fairbanks, Alaska metropolitan statistical area. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population as of July 1, 2009 at 2,226. The name "North Pole" is often applied to the entire area covered...
. Sipes' father served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a Drill Instructor
Drill instructor
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of indoctrinating new recruits entering the military into the customs and...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Sipes' mother died in 1967, and his father remarried in 1969.
Sipes grew up with Athabascans and Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
Natives. He is known as one of a very few non G'wichin Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
to have lived on the Venetie Indian Reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
in the 1990s. While living on the reservation he was noted as having some abilities as a hunter, harvesting bear and moose with tribesmen from the village. He worked as a Mental Health Counselor in Fairbanks, Alaska for over 16 years, was briefly employed in the State of Alaska Department of Administration and has since been working as an English teacher in Saudi Arabia.
Sipes was married in 2000 to a member of the Wai-Wai tribe from NE Brasil. He was divorced in 2008. He currently lives in Saudi Arabia.
Education
Sipes graduated from High School in 1976. He attended both the University of Alaska and Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
. He graduated from college with a B.A. in British Literature from Brigham Young University in 1991. Sipes completed a teaching degree while attending Brigham Young and taught high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
courses in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and was a substitute teacher in Alaska during the 1990s.
Hawaii
Sipes says he worked drilling water wells on the island of OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
in 1988 while attending Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
, which involved field work. While surveying in the Makaha Valley he discovered several burial mounds of ancient Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
ans which were reported to the University of Hawaii Manoa.
Amazon River basin
In February, 1998 he transported a FOLBOT collapsible kayakFolding kayak
A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin made of a tough fabric with a waterproof coating...
to Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon and ascended the river 200 miles. On this expedition, Sipes was by all accounts the first outsider to paddle up the Camanai River, where after contacting the Waimiri-Atroari Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
he was forced to leave the tribal area. In March, 1999 Sipes made the first documented attempt to walk overland between the two major rivers of South America, namely the Amazonas
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
(Solimoes) and Rio Negro river systems. After six days and walking thirty miles, east of the Japura River
Japurá River
The Japurá River or Caquetá River is a river about long rising as the Caquetá River in the Andes in the Southwest of Colombia. It flows southeast into Brazil, where it is called the Japurá. The Japurá enters the Amazon River through a network of channels...
he contracted Dengue Fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
in a swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
and abandoned the trek. In May, 2000 he and his Wai Wai wife Marineth (Natchee) and a two man crew attempted to enter Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
from the south by traveling north on the Mapura River, but were stopped by waterfalls when the boat swamped near the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
. In February, 2002 he contacted the Pacaja Indians off the Xingu River
Xingu River
The Xingu River , also called Rio Xingu, is a 1,230-mile long, river in north Brazil; it is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River.-Description and history:...
which was documented in Brazzil magazine in 2004.
Egypt
Sipes visited EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to research the ancient caravan
Caravan (travellers)
A caravan is a group of people traveling together, often on a trade expedition. Caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in groups aided in defence against bandits as well as helped to improve economies of scale in trade.In historical times, caravans...
routes of northwest Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in 2001, 2003, 2004 and in March 2008. He led approximately ten overland expeditions from Siwa
Siwa
Siwa may refer to:* 140 Siwa, an asteroid* Siwa, Indonesian pronunciation of the Hindu god Shiva* Siwa , spider genus in the Araneidae family* Siwa Oasis, an oasis in Egypt* Siwa, Panchthar, a Village Development Committee in Nepal...
to the various abandoned oases in the western desert, documenting the sites for publication. In May 2004 he is reported to have walked alone from the Egyptian border several miles into Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
following a camel track while searching for an unnamed abandoned oasis after his Bedouin guide refused to accompany him due the possibility of arrest.
Congo
In December, 2005 Sipes made the first ascent by kayak in the LikoualaLikouala Region
Likouala is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the northern part of the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette and Sangha, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. The region has an area of 66,044 km² and an estimated...
District of the Ubangui River and the Ibenga River in the Republic of Congo. At the time of this trip several different factions of rebels were active along the Ubangui River, which constitutes the border between the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
. Little information is available about this remote area which is not accessible by road. In 2006, Mr. Sipes worked for the United States Embassy in the Republic of Congo preparing two security reports. The first report documented security issues in the Likoluala District between ROC and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was completed under the direction of U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Mark Beidlingmaier. In the second report, prepared at the request of then U.S. Ambassador Robert Weisberg, Sipes completed the first English language security report on the CFCO railroad operating between Point Noire and Brazzaville.
Georgia
Over August–September 2008, Sipes traveled to the Republic of Georgia during the period of the RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n invasion of the South Ossetian War. While in the country he was in the town of Gori at the time of the pull-out of the Russian army and wrote an article documenting the event for Georgia Today, Georgia's largest circulation English language journal.
Publications
Ernest Sipes's work has been published in History Today magazine (United Kingdom) and Brazzil magazine (Brazil and United States). He has also published a book with Hancock House publishers (Canada). The majority of Sipes' published work focuses on Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and South American Indians. Sipes has pioneered several areas of research focusing on Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
. He has also published original research in 1998 and 2007 which documented the impact of the institution of serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
as applied to Alaskan Natives by the Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. In 2003, Sipes produced the first scholarly account of the current living conditions and conducted limited anthropological fieldwork with the Poticru Tribe of the Xingu River
Xingu River
The Xingu River , also called Rio Xingu, is a 1,230-mile long, river in north Brazil; it is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River.-Description and history:...
.