This article describes the influences of William Demmert's formative years growing up in Alaska and his years as an educator of Native American students upon his career in Native education policy. It focuses on Alaska Native education during a ten-year period between 1980 and 1990 during which time he served as the director of the Center for Teacher Education, and in 1984, professor of education and dean of the School of Education and Liberal Arts at the University of Alaska in Juneau and his 1987 appointment as the commissioner of education for the State of Alaska.