National Education Week
SCHOOL AT TOP OF WORLD—Here is one of t ip buildings of the B!A School at Barrow. Piled
high beside it in solid form is the seh -»Ps winter sunnlv of drinking water.
HARD AT WORK—This little pupil of the Barro w BIA School is deep in concentration as he crayon
colors a drawing in a picture book. Daily attendance at the school averages better than 96 per cent.
GROUP SINGING—These happy pupils at the BIA School at Barrow, Alaska, are having a good time
singing their favorite songs. Even the teacher seems to be enjoying herself.
Chief Oolanna
Sends Message
(The following message was
sent to the people of Pt. Hope
and Barrow via tape recording by
Mrs. Lorraine Koranda. a former
teacher at the University of Alas
ka who is now doing an extensive '
study of music in the Arctic.)
By CHIEF JOHN OOLANNA
King Island
I am sending greetings to the
families of Kunaluk. Kokokruk.
Kunungnowruk and Koonooyak.
I have traced my ancestry and
vours and found that I am related
(o all you men I mentioned.
I am old now and I do not be
lieve I will see you again in this
life. Someday we will meet some
where else—out of the reality of
this land—in a place that is not
here on earth.
I believe in God and with
thoughts of Him I pray for you.
1 pray that you will have great suc
cess in your whaling. I pray that
you will live the way God wants
vou to live. Then he will bless you
with the whales.
Everyone who was Dorn on me
island is well. The aged ones are
gone now. I had known them since
they were children.
I am 81 years of age now. My
body is lessening in strength as I
grow old.
My friends, every day God comes
nearer to me and I trust that He
will soon be here.
Do not forget God. Always be
'hankful when you catch whales.
Be good. Do not forget.
I want you to relay my message
to Point Barrow people. I have not
forgotten them. Tell the people
there I send my deep felt greetings.
Arctic Study
Of Music
Progresses
A grant from a national founda
tion is making possible a compre
hensive two-year study of Eskimo
music so it can be preserved for
posterity.
Mrs. Lorraine Koranda. formerly
a music teacher at the University
of Alaska, is making the study.
In Fairbanks last week. Mrs.
Koranda said this summer and fall
she has visited the larger Eskimo
villages tape recording the tradi
tional songs and stories.
Nome. Kotzebue, Unalakleet, and
Barrow were among the places she
visited.
Mrs. Koranda started collecting
•ones of Eskimo songs in 1950 but
progress was slow because she did
not have sufficient funds for ex
tensive travel necessary.
The work she is doing is non
Drofit. A selection of the music is to
be published and recorded and if
any profit is derived, it will be
used for further study.
The music will be preserved by
'he Alaska Festival of Music and
'.he University of Alaska under the
orovisions of the grant from the Z.
J. I.oussnc Foundation.
Next spring she plans to travel to
the smaller villages. She would be
particularly pleased to receive let
ters from Eskimo people who know
and would be willing to pass on old
traditional songs that are on the
brink of becoming lost. Her address:
Mrs. Lorraine Koranda, Palmer,
Alaska.
Hearing Set
Testimony on proposed freight
rate increases on the Yukon River
will be taken during a three-day
hearing at Fairbanks November
28-30.
Northern Commercial Co. propos
es to increase freight rates by 10
per cent as does the Alaska Steam
ship Company.
The State of Alaska opposes the
proposed increases.
Edgecumbe Elects
Student Council
“It is our school and we. the stu
dents, must try to make it a better
school through our participation
in student government."
This is one of the concluding re
marks of Charles Brower, president
of the Mt. Edgecombe Student
Council, in a speech entitled "Ac
cepting the Challenge."
“If we are to help make Mt.
Edgecombe a respected institution
of secondary learning, we must be
fully aware that it is not just a
place where we travel to and from
every fall and spring,” he said.
Brower was recently installed
along with other officers of student
government. Vice president is Peter
Boskofsky; secretary, Miranda Hil
debrand; treasurer, Janet Pestri
koff.
The Student Council has the re
sponsibility of planning the activi
ties of the student body, of budget
ing and spending some $40,000 each
year.
Canadian Proposes
Indian Center
One of the most heartening things
to appear in the newspapers in a
long time is the suggestion of a
Vancouver alderman that a centre
be established in the city for In
dians. In the long history of trou
bles brought on British Columbia's
Indian population by the coming
of the white man, the lure of the
big city doesn’t show up as a ma
jor problem, but We suspect it
is a growing one while ether prob
lems are being solved.—Agassiz -
Harrison (B.C.) Advance.
ALASKA TOPS FLORIDA
IN SUMMER SUNSHINE
Come to think of it, in northern
j Alaska we get plenty of hours of
I sunshine in summer.
Take Barrow, the farthest north
I settlement in North America. It
has continuous sunshine for some
thing like 90 days during the
months of May. June and July.
The total hours of sunshine would
be 2.160.
Take Florida or California and
the 90 day period of summer they
have there. Let’s say they have
about 15 hours of sunshine each
day during the summer. The total
hours of sunshine in each of the
two states would be something like
1.350. Alaska has more summer sun
shine than Florida or California.
—
Missionaries ...
(Continued from Page 1)
ing facilities should be provided at
the high' school.
The committee recommended that
children be educated in an environ
ment as similar as possible to one
in which they were born.
It asked that the vocational school
be established for youngsters not
ciualified for academic high school
as well ag high school graduates and
adults.
f
Those who attended were: Right
Rev. Bishop Gordon (20 years in
Alaska). Fairbanks: Rev. Edward
Caum, (1 year), Fairbanks; Rev.
Richard Clarke. (3 years), Holi
kachuk. Rev. Thomas Cleveland,
(8 years, Tanana; Rev. Walter Han
num, (9 years), Ft. Yukon: Rev.
Patterson Keller. (7 years). Huslia.
Rev. George Boileau, S.J.. Fair
banks, (13 years); Rev. Jules M.
Convert, S.J. (20 years), Kaltag;
Rev. John P. Fox, S.J., 35 years.
Holy Cross.
The three-day meeting was held
at the St. Matthew's Paarish Hall
in Fairbanks. The office of Bishop
Gordon in Fairbanks will act as a
clearing house of information and
later a periodic mimeographed bul
letin may be printed.