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Owned, controlled and edited by Tundra Times. Inc., a corporation of Alaska
natives. Published at Fairbanks, Alaska, twice monthly, on the first and third
Mondays.
Address all mail to Box 1287, Fairbanks, Alaska. Telephone GL 2-2244.
Entered at the Post Office at Fairbanks, Alaska, as second cla*.:s matter under
the Act of March 3, 1879.
Tundra Times, Inc., publisher (Howard Rock, Martha Teeluk, and Alfred Ketzler);
HOWARD ROCK, editor; Thomas Suapp. assistant editor; contributing editors,
Guy Okakok, Martha Teeluk, and Alfred Ketzler.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
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Regular Mail, Stale . 1 year 5.00
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Less than 6 months, 36c per Issue ... 1 year 12.00 ^
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Editorial
Land Use
(Editor’s Note: The probability of the building of the Rampart
Dam has moved the Indians in the inundation area to designate on
maps evidence of use of the land in making claims around their
villages. The following letter accompanied a map drawn by the
people of Birch Creek.)
Here is a little explanation about the land.
We will try to describe the best we can, how we use
our land. Because it has been used in so many ways for
so many, many, many years as far back as the oldest person
could remember and also what we hear about more further
back.
We mean to say since many years ago this land on
this side of the Yukon has been of good use and still is in
good use for hunting, fishing, and trapping as well as for
timber of all kinds both on land and along the rivers.
We use both of the upper and lower Birch Creek River
for transportation to the Yukon River. We use all the cer
tain places for the king salmon fishing along the Yukon
River. We could mark out everything, but everything
seems too scattered, things like old graves, old village site.
We can't mark every little thing.
Map is kind of small. We couldn't mark out fust here
and there because people move about looking for better
hunting or fishing area, things like that. And that's where
their old grave or old village sites are. We could mark out
a few of them.
One of the chief of the old time, one who could
remember, died in 1887. His grave is way up on the mourn
tain above Circle City. The flag on his grave is still there
and three or four chiefs before him that we hear about. I
Their graves were along the Yukon River same place.
This last fourth generation from the youngest chief's
son is still living here in this area and is doing everything
just about the same way. We don't mean that we use land
all at one time. We use certain places for mink, muskrat,
beaver, and fishing. Sometime some of the places are not
good, so we have to try on other parts of the land.
That's how we need all of this land and try to claim
it. That's from mouth of Preacher Creek on down part of
Beaver Creek to the lower mouth of Birch Creek. From
south side bank of the Yukon to Mountain Range. We do
hope this helps in explaining about the land.
This is the area we want to claim as indicated on the
map which is encircled with red pencil.
This includes trapping area now occupied and used
each year. Fishing, hunting area all along rivers, lakes, and
sloughs. This includes up and down the river.
Since early days, our grandparents are using this land
for berries, home wood, and birch for making toboggans,
snowshoes, and sleds. Persons been making these from on
and on to this day.
Sincerely,
From the Birch Creek People
BIRTHDAY ISSUE
Tundra Times will celebrate its first birthday with the
next, (Oct. 7) issue. It will be the 25th issue of our All-Alas
ka Native newspaper. Highlights of the year's journalistic
activities will be presented, as well as our own brand of
"new-news." We sincerely hope you'll join us for our
birthday.
f
NORTH STAR
AWARD
(In each issue, the Tundra
Times will single out for a North
Star award one who has made an
outstanding accomplishment or
done a meritorious act.)
The job of putting the Tundra '
Times in the family of newspapers
in Alaska has been a challenging
and a difficult one. The editor, with
his woefully limited knowledge of
newspaper work, could not have
done it. It would have been an im
possibility, pure and simple.
It was only through the astute and
professional assistance of Thomas A.
Snapp, who is now leaving us. that
the Tundra Times emerged as a
newspaper. His thorough manner of
reporting news has given the paper
its professional type contents.
Tom Snapp was never satisfied
with just a news subject. He probed
exhaustively into it and the result
was a story that was convincing and
authoritative.
Perhaps the greatest good he did
for the Tundra Times was his gen
uine concern for the natives and
their problems. He took these to
heart and in his usual thorough
manner, brought them out in their
stark reality.
Snapp is probably one of the very
few people anywhere in our coun
try who has exhaustive and intimate
knowledge of native affairs in
Northern Alaska, the problems of
Northern Eskimos and the Athabas
can Indians of the Interior. He rues
the fact, along with this paper, of
our lack of full knowledge of the
Kuskokwim area Eskimos and the
Aleuts of the Aleutian Chain.
Thomas A. Snapp is a kind of a
journalist anyone would hate to
lose, most of all, the Tundra Times.
His talent for exhaustive research
has been one great contributing fac
tor in the proper presentation of
this paper. This has been responsi
ble for the {ine response Tundra
Times has received from almost the
world over.
And so to Thomas A. Snapp, fine
journalist, whose untiring efforts
have done so much in bringing out
the native problems in their true
light, whose keen insight and his
genuine care for the natives of
Alaska, goes the twenty-fourth
North Star Award along with our
congratulations and our hopes for
his return to this paper in the fu
ture- _ ,. t
Poem
PT HOPE
DOIN’T FALL
By JOHN P. GUINN
Unaffiliated with the white man's
trends
That demoralize—crush—deprive.
Point Hopers stand as an oak to
the wind
And Eskimo culture thrives.
Unceasingly, undauntingly—even
fiercely so—
These people are truly unique.
Steadfast, while Alaska dies—
White culture they do not reap.
Remember in autumn, when all
leaves fall.
But one stubborn leaf did stay?
And you admired this leaf with its
stubborn pride
And hoped its hold would not fray?
Not unlike the leaf with its undying
pride,
Point Hopers are strong but, well,
Let’s hope they’re not too much
like that leaf—
Remember, that leaf finally fell.
Editorial
Man Made Menace
The village of Anaktuvuk Pass is living in the shadow
of a man made menace—the menace of radiation. Fate, ir»
one of its most unusual forms, is frowning on this little
village of 108 Eskimos with a threat that seems to spell
doom to its very existence through its food source, th©
caribou. 4
The people of Anaktuvuk Pass have, for centuries,
hunted caribou for their livelihood. This animal mean®
everything in their way of life. It is food, clothing, shelter,
and many other multiple uses. It comes to the stark reality
that the people of this village cannot exist without the
caribou. “4
Man discovered the secret of the atom and found that
it had great potential as a weapon of war. He needed to
perfect it and the way to do that was to explode varying
sizes of atom bombs underground and in the air, up to the
equivalent of millions of tons of TNT. In the process,
scientists found that there was radioactive fallout that was
potentially dangerous if absorbed in sufficient quantities.
A strange, ironic, and ominous pall, emanating from
the achievement of one of the great sciences, the splitting
of the atom, has made visitations upon the ancient cul
tures of the unique Arctic food chain of northern Alaska.
The most glaring example of this has become evident in
the little village of Anaktuvuk Pass. |i
Anaktuvuk Pass, remote, deep in the rugged fast
nesses of the Brooks Range, has become the victim of one
of man's great achievements in science, the invention of
a weapon of war—the atom bomb. Its side product, the
radioactive fallout, is contaminating the food source of the
northern Eskimos, especially those in Anaktuvuk Pass.
The caribou, the restless, wandering animal that tra
vels through the length of northern Alaska and Canada,
feed principally on lichens. These plants take their nourish
ment out of the air instead of the soil. This peculiarity of
taking nutrients allows the plants to absorb radioactive
fallout. Feeding on these plants, caribou become contam
inated with radioactive fallout. Eskimos hunt this animal
for food, some of them to supplement other food animals
on which they subsist. But to the people of Anaktuvuk
Pass, caribou is the main source of food. They cannot exist
without this animal.
The Anaktuvuk Pass radiation problem is getting the
attention of people in high offices. There is talk that the
people of the village should change their diet. Others
think that the village should be relocated.
After visiting Anaktuvuk Pass, this paper has found
that there is some reluctance to both ideas.
Simon Paneak, president of the Anaktuvuk Pass coun
cil, said when asked to comment on the possibility of relo
cation and changing of diet, "It is not good to think of
moving. We have lived in this area for a long time. This
land with its caribou is our own way of life. We like it
better than the Arctic coast. We wouldn't know how to
make a living in the Yukon country.
"It would cost a lot of money to the government to
feed us and move us, but if it should become necessary,
it would be the only way."
Simon Paneak was reflecting the feelings ot his peo
ple—their reluctance to be a burden to the government
and their reluctance to be moved somewhere else where
food-getting would be strange to them.
The problem at Anaktuvuk Pass is a big one. It s a
kind of a problem that will worsen with time under the
present circumstances. If nuclear testing is continued by
the great powers it could destroy the great Arctic food
chain. Being close to Russian testing areas, and the peculi
arity of meteorological conditions, the danger is great that
Alaska may get excessive fallout.
There should not be a "wait and see" period a? far
as the Anaktuvuk Pass problem is concerned. The situation
there calls for serious thought now. Whatever may evolve
from the problem, say from Washington or Juneau, it
should not be confined to those seats of government. Peo
ple of Anaktuvuk Pass should definitely be consulted. They
are practical and capable thinkers and should be given an
opportunity to take part. To do otherwise could easily lead
to the breakdown of morale of the people of that village.