Ft. Barrow
Weather Amazing
At Top of World
By Guy Okakok
Contributing Editor
Misery and Cold
Here in Barrow, the houses seems
to relax from the heat, meaning
nowhere to find a wood or oil
whenever persons can't afford to
buy the fuel for his home.
And it looks kind of hard for
anyone to keep his family going
while the big natural gas is outside
of their houses. Especially for the
school children; they'd go to school
sometimes in the morning without
any breakfast, or even wash them
selves. Why? Because of no fuel.
IJke Summer
Our grandparents used to tell us
that some years Alaska will never
freeze and will be likely like sum
mer in the winter.
That reminds me today as I come
home from seal hunting. Without
going inside after the hunt I went
to check my thermometer. It reads
38 above.
The rain pours down all day to
day. Children who loves to play
outdoors had to stay inside on ac
count of the heavy rain.
This is amazing, having heavy
rain in January on 27th and 28th of
* this month. It seems to us that the
climate here in Barrow keeps
changing each year.
I’m coming to 60 years now and
all these years we don't have that
much rain in Winter. Not only this
but the weather those years were so
beautiful that you always wanted
to go and hunt all the time.
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Poneer Job Printers
Opposes ‘Hunting Grounds’ Turned to ‘Recreation Area’ Through Road Project
(Continued From Pg. 1)
Dr. Weeden presented in detail
the resources of the area including
color slides of the Minto Lakes area.
His report concerning the human
use of the area by the Minto peo
ple conflicted in many respects to
the report later given by Chief
Frank and the Rev. Gordon Olson,
a missionary of the village.
Chief Frank began by thanking
the Alaska Conservation Society for
inviting him to the meeting, point
ing out it was the first such invita
tion his village ever received to
present the views of his people
concerning the road.
Not Consulted
“The first we hear about this
road project was last fall through
rumor. My people feel very badly
that the road has been planned for
so long and we were not consulted,
not once."
He explained the Minto people
had “passed around the hat” to
raise $25 for his trip to Fairbanks.
He said he only had a sixth grade
education and would not be able
to use the “well chosen words” like
Dr. Weeden.
“Trapping, hunting, and fishing—
that is the way my people make
their livelihood. Not one person in
Minto has a year-around job like
most of the people in Fairbanks.”
No Benefit
“My people can see no way the
project will benefit Minto."
“We have a lot of hungry children
and it's the future of the Minto In
dians we are thinking of. We have
relatives at Rampart and other vil
lages that we would like to move to
Minto if Rampart Dam goes
through.
“We don’t know how to dig oil
wells: we just know how to fish,
trap, and hunt. If Rampart is built,
there will have to be some place
for our relatives to move where
they can live directly off the land.”
Chief Frank then cited an ex
ample of development from the
years past that had affected his peo
ple adversely. He said pike and
white fish used to be plentiful at
their fish camp. “The water was
deep and celar and we got fish for
our dogs by the pailful. Then in the
early 30's the FE Company came
in and started dredging.”
Development Effect
“The water became filthy: the
river became shallow: and we can’t i
catch fish like we used to. You can't
get enough fish for five dogs. I
know, I’ve tried it.
“It’s pretty hard for me to ex
plain. We are afraid we will fall
into the trap of sportsmen and it
will hurt the future of our people.”
Chief Frank then explained the
cycle of life at Minto, saying,
“Nothing is so sorrowful as for a
hunter, empty handed, to be greeted
by hungry children.”
“They will look at your feet, if
there’s blood on your feet, they
know you got a moose.”
Moose Left
He said if a native wounded a
moose and it got away that the na
tive always went back the next day
and brought the moose in.
“The sportsman, the great Ameri
can sportsman, alot of time will
shoot a moose and let it go. We
know because we find dead moose
with bullets in them.
“When we find an animal like
that, that had been dead for some
time, we can’t use it. We bring it
back for the dogs.”
Trapping
Chief Frank said his people also
made some money from trapping
minks, muskrats, lynx, but he said
the carcasses were also prepared
for meals.
“There are very few animals that
we throw away. If we can’t eat
them, the second choice is for the
dogs. We bring back everything of
the moose, even the lungs, which
we cook and eat,” he said.
o
“Now I can’t really express the
opinion of the peole of Minto. I
am 30 years old and there are i
many older men and women who
know more and can talk better than
I can in our native tongue. But they
can’t come here and express the
right kind of words you people want
to hear so they sent me to invite
you to Minto. We will listen to your
side of the story if you will listen
to us.
March of Dimes
“We are trying the best we can to
be true American citizens," he said,
“Last Saturday we put on a dance
for the March of Dimes and our
whole village went to it and we col
lected $52.26.
“Young guys with dogs hauled
wood for old pensioners in order to
get the money for a $2.50 donation.
“It's pretty hard to get hold of
a dollar at Minto. We don’t work
year around. Just a very few of the
boys work four or five months out
of the year and they don't make
much, about $600 to $1,000.
“As fall comes, they start think
ing about that fall fish run and find
a way to quit their jobs or get fired
so they can come back and get
enough fish for the winter.
Black Fish
In the winter, he said, they re
lied on the black fish found in open
places under snow drifts and upon
beaver trapping.
If the men who work made over
$600, they are eligible for unem
ployment compensation.”
“That is the cycle. I don’t worry
so much about the old people be
cause the U. S. Government makes
sure they get their monthly check
but the young people, they don’t
know a trade, the only thing they
know is to fish and hunt.”
Ancient Claim
Chief Frank then traced how his
forefathers had lived and claimed
the Minto Flats for centuries. From
time unknown, he said Minto chiefs
had claimed specific areas and did
not tresspass in other areas.
On Feb. 13. 1938 he said his father,
Justin Frank, made a map for the
Native Service of the area claimed
by Minto. The area encompasses
about 800 square miles of the Minto
Flats.
He said that the village was asked
if it wanted a reservation and
voted no, “because we did not know
very much about reservations.”
State Applied
But he said the claim was filed
with the government. Later, in 1951,
he said George Titus, made another
map but had difficulty with land
marks and the map was inaccurate.
In late 1961, he said, with the Ne
nana oil activity the state applied
for the area his people had always
used. We put in a protest and Peter
John duplicated the map made by
my father.”
“We feel the place for sportsmen
recreation should be in another
part of Alaska. What about the
old bombing area? There’s a couple
million acres there and I doubt if
they have ever dropped a bomb on
it.”
Don’t Hate
“Now I don't want to sound like
I really hate you people, no. If we
were convinced that everyone would
benefit, that the people of Minto
I would benefit we might go along."
“The attitude down there is that
j you people were going to put a road
I into Minto Lakes without even
consulting the people who live
there, who hunt and fish there, who
use the area for a livelihood!”
“If you people could live off Min
to Flats for one year or even a
quarter of a year, you would under
stand my point.”
Chief Frank pointed out that
there were about 20 cabins built
by sportsmen in the area. “When
they asked permission to build
cabins, they said they would come
to the village and use Minto men
for guides. Not one has used our
people as guides.”
o Pay in Liquor
Other sportsmen, not owning cab
ins, sometimes employ Minto men
as guides but Frank said, “They
don’t pay them in cash like other
guides; most of them get paid the
cheaper way, in liquor. Our people
don't like that.”
“Why do you propose to build
the road only half way, why not
build it all the way to Minto. That
way the village could get some ben
efit, everybody would be happy.”
“We are satisfied with the way
things have been going. We don't
mind Fairbanks hunters coming
down and getting moose. But if a
whole bunch of people move in,
what will happen to my people?
They will be out and 1 do mean,
out.”
Chief Frank was questioned by a
sportsman, “Exactly what do you
want out of the area?”
Full Rights
“We want our full trapping, hunt
ing. and fishing rights. When you
take all those three things, you are
discussing the land.
“In 1938 we didn't know anything
about reservations, and we voted
against it, but if that is the only
way we can get the land, then we
would be for it.”
One sportsman said he had had a
cabin in the flats for 17 years and
he had never seen an Indian. He
questioned why of Chief Frank.
Stay Away
The chief replied that the Minto
Board of Directors had received a
complaint and that the Minto peo
ple had been given strict orders to
stay away from the cabins. “We
told them not to go near the cabins
because we didn’t want them to get
into trouble.”
Frank was evidently referring to
a complaint aired at the Tanana In
dian meeting last June in which the
belief was expressed that sports
men in Minto Lakes were taking
things from each other and blaming
the Minto natives.
Area Needed
Upon a.question by another mem
ber of the audience. Chief Frank
said the Minto people were using
the entire 800 square mile area.
“We hunt one day here, the next
day there.”
“In beaver season we try to catch
one or two beaver out of each
house, because if we take more
than that we are cutting out own
bank account.”
“We trap a 20 miles area then
move over 20 miles.
The Rev. Gordon Olson, of Minto,
substantiated the need for the large
area.
“I have been keenly aware of the
need of natives to live off the land
and I don’t think 800 square miles
is too big an area,” said the Rev.
Olson. Olson has served as mission
ary there 9 years and also as fish
and game licensing agent.
Missionary Worried
“When you see these people go
out for moose, it isn’t too big, just
about the size needed for the ani
mals there."
“If a road is put in, the main
danger is for moose. The families
all depend upon it for their winter
meat. If it isn’t available, the win
ters for their families are going to
be mightly slim.”
“It will place severe hardship
without question on them because
people driving to the lake will hunt
in the natives’ hunting area. When
the surplus is cut down, I wonder
what the village will do.
Village Welfare?
“Welfare will probably be needed
for the whole village.”
At the present time only two per
sons are drawing welfare and both
are disability cases, Chief Frank
said.
“There are big areas around Fair
banks where there are no native
villages that would not place any
hardships on others,” the minister
pointed out.
“A village is at stake. Ask your
self this question, is a recreation
area worth the future of a village?”
During the course of the meeting,
it was brought out that in 1938, 52
native villages had asserted claims
or possible claims to varying
amounts of land.
Ruling Needed
Robert Rausch, head of the Fair
banks regional office of Alaska De
partment of Fish and Game, said the
native rights assertions were block
ing plans and had completely sti
mied the state selection program.
“Until we have a definite ruling
on native rights assertions, this pro
gram and many others cannot go
ahead. It affects not only the De
partment of Fish and Game but all
the departments of state govern
ment.
“I am sure everyone would like
to see a solution, not only to this
particular claim but all the other
claims.”
INDIAN TEACHER TRIES
TO CONVINCE STUDENTS
SHE'S NOT FROM INDIA
Miss Louise Tansy, Cantwell, lo
cated on the southeast edge of Mt.
McKinley National Park, is having
difficulty in trying to convince her
Eskimo pupils in the day school at
Kotzebue, that she is an Athabascan
Indian from Alaska and not an In
dian from India.
Miss Tansy is enjoying her job
teaching second grade. She reports
that some of her pupils are little
live wires.
One unique and amusing situa
tion she has encountered is, that she
has been having trouble making
some youngsters to go home after
school.
“They seem to want to stay after
school and I kind of hesitate to tell
them to go home. I think they are
just curious," she said.
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