tEunUra CtmcS
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 class matter under
the Act of March 3, 1879.
Tundra Times, Inc., publisher (Howard Rock, Martha Teeluk. and Alfred Ketzleri;
HOWARD ROCK, editor; Thomas Snapp, assistant editor; Vivian P. Spurgin, office
manager; contributing editors, Guy Okakok, Martha Teeluk, and Alfred Ketzler.
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Guest Editorial
Support Your Paper
Recently I visited the Tundra Times, Inc. at Fairbanks
<8nd found our editor, Howard Rock and Tom Snapp, assist
ant editor, and their office manager hard at work for the
next issue of the Tundra Times. It gave me the impression,
"Here are people who are really dedicated to make this
publication a success."
This newspaper, Tundra Times, is getting good recog
nition all over, even from foreign countries, and not
enough support from our own people.
As a member of the Inupiat Paitot Executive Commit
tee, I am writing urging all of our people to give this, our
paper, your full support. This paper was designed and
initiated to help our native people on their problems.
We also have one of our native men, Arthur Nagozruk
of Nome, appointed as a Tribal Operations Officer under
Bureau of Indian Affairs. He is also fully dedicated. He
wants to help solve our innumerable problems. He is in
a position to help our government to understand native
oroblems.
Here we have two capable men of our own native
blood who are working hard, one from private side of
natives and one from federal government side. These two
men are well qualified in their lines. They were born
among us and they fully understand natives.
There have been good non-natives who have worked
hard to solve our problems but they have been helpless
because they never fully understood us, so the problems
remain unsolved to this day.
Two of these men of our own native blood got me
between practically squeezing me out of my seat (but my
neck wasn't sore though from looking and turning from
one side to the other). Boy, they gave me the works. It
was worth it. By the way, one of them happened to be my
former pupil and the other is the son of a native teacher,
who is now retired. I learned from them what the natives
are up against.
Native problems will remain unsolved, however big
or small, if we fail to present them. Tundra Times and
Tribal Operations will do all they can within their power
to helo, but we natives are the ones who must work.
We have many problems, educational, medical, fi
nancial, hunting, village sanitation, land, young people,
reindeer, church, relief, legislation, etc. We, the native
people, must get on the ball. Tundra Times and Tribal
Ooerations are with us. All we have to do is to go to them
with our problems. It is like religion where Jesus came to
us and we go to Him. The relationship is somewhat alike.
We natives are the ones who should initiate. If we wait,
nothing will materialize or become a reality. Village coun
cils, men and women, let's go!
I feel that I am well qualified to ask you to cooperate.
1 have worked hard. My wife has worked hard. For forty
y°ars as teachers under the Bureau of Education, Alaska
Native Service, arid Bureau of indian Affairs, we have been
transferred from one village to another. I should know
your problems. That is why I am urging you all to co
operate.
We have, at last, the tools with which to work. Let us,
ell of us, get behind those who are trying to help us and
jn this way we will begin to solve our problems.
-TONY JOULE
Member, Executive Committee
Inupiat Paitot
NORTH STAR
AWARD
(In each issue, the Tmadr*
Times will single out for a North
Star award one who has made an
outstanding accompUshtaes* or
done a meritorious act.)
“I always feel proud to see or
hear of some of my former stu
dents achieve some measures of
success,” said Tony Joule, of Kotze
bue, not long ago.
Tony Joule can single out any
student he has had in his 40 long
years of teaching in Alaska.
He was retired on April 18, 19C1
with a Citation and Honor Award
for commendable service with me
dal and lapel button, a fitting hon
or after a long and often trying
career.
lony was Dorn at r'oint nope in
Northwestern Alaska. He was rais
ed by his foster parents, Kayesuk
and his wife, Esigriktoak. He was
educated in a seminary in tile low
er states. When he returned to
Point Hope, he was given a teach
ing assignment at the St. Thomas
Mission. One of his students at that
time is now the editor of this
paper.
When the Interior Department’s
Bureau of Education established the
school system in northern Alaska,
he was engaged as one of its teach
ers. When he finally retired he was
given credit for over 39 years of
service.
During that long period of time,
Tony Joule taught in many villages
all up and down the coast of North
ern Alaska. He has taught many,
many Eskimo children, a veritable
’’Mr. Chips” of the north.
Tcny was a rather stern and ex
acting teacher, and no wonder. As
children will, some of his students
were fond of shooting spitballs us
ing a type of blow gun fashioned
out of seagull wing bone and trig
gered by pushing a stick rapidly
against a wad in the rear of the
tube and the resulting air pressure
shot a wad at the muzzle. The wet
missile would rifle out with a dis
tinct pop of the seagull wing bone.
School facilities during the early
years of Tony Joule’s tenure were
not of the best. There was shortage
of desks and other things, but as far
as some pupils were concerned
there was no shortage of rulers.
Some pupils took the measure of
them in the palms of their hands.
Heating the school room was al
ways a problem. Many a morning
the pupils would find their ink
bottles frozen solid. The children
were allowed to thaw them out
near the hot pot-bellied stove in
which a fire had been built during
the morning.
One morning a young boy had left
his ink bottle on the stove. It heat
ed up and exploded. No one was
hurt but there was a great splotch
of black ink on the whitewashed
ceiling.
Yes. Tony Joule, with all the dif
ficulties he encountered through
the long years of teaching in the
north, helped pave the way for
the present generation of young
sters who. at last, are getting excel
lent education. His contribution was
of inestimable value in making
many natives of Alaska aware of
the vital importance of education.
And so to Tony Joule, for his
dedicated service in helping to pio
neer education to his own people,
for persevering under trying condi
j tions, goes the Tundra Times nine
teenth North Star Award along
with our congratulations.
POEM
Smiling Sky
By Robert N. Zimmerman
Blue sky:
Eskimo doll;
Eskimo smile.
Editorial
The New Economy
The natives of Alaska, especially in the northern parts
of the state, have a unique philosophy—that of sharing. It
has become an established facet of their lives during their
age-old existence in the Arctic country. The very nature of
the country with its extreme conditions called for coopera
tion that was practiced to a high degree. It made survival
in the Arctic possible. It is doubtful that people in the
Arctic regions would have survived without it.
The sharing philosophy of the natives is beginning to
suffer setbacks in the modern economy of the natives. Thu
cash and semi-cash economy is making inroads into it. The
very nature of the dollar earned through labor does not
lend itself readily to the sharing of it.
At the present time a great many natives are unedu
cated. More and more jobs now require at least a high
school education. A great bulk of the native population
do not have this and are finding it hard to make a living.
At the present time, men and their families are be
ing drawn to centers like Kotzebue. Semi-cash is the eco
nomy there. Some manage to live well but many of them
don't. Those that do not have jobs become public charges.
They exist on the meager returns of welfare money. Many
of these people in circumstances of this kind are losing
their initiative and live from day to day with little hope.
Many of these people came from hunting communities
where they fared better.
There are hunting communities in Alaska that have
actually improved their economy with cash. They are the
experimenters. They are the people who have adapted
modern conveniences to enhance their way of life. Where
they formerly lived strictly by hunting, they have estab
lished cash to supplement their hunting economy. This
adaptation is working well for these villages.
With cash realized, they have obtained outboard mo
tors that gave them excellent mobility to enhance their
hunting ability. They have obtained washing machines,
good beds, better but expensive ways of heating their
homes, radios. They have adopted foods they like, flour,
sugar, tea, coffee, butter, bacon, beans, rice, and many
other food items.
I
Although having acquired the above items, their main
economy continues to be hunting. They have found that
they can live well with the combination of the two cul
tures but many are finding it difficult to get seasonal jobs
to meet the new needs. They found that by hunting, sup
plemented by cash income, they can live well throughout
the year.
Men in the hunting communities would like nothing
better than a few months of work ^ach year to acquire
cash. Many men would be satisfied with three month's
work. Four months or even five would be adequate.
The fact that we haven't been able to get across to
responsible people is, that many natives in Alaska need
only to work a few months out of the year to live com
fortably. These responsible people have only been able to
visualize year-round jobs for natives.
The year-round jobs would be fine for those who
qualify but the economists, or whoever they are, should
realize that most natives will not be able to acquire year
round jobs for a long time to come. These are people who
should not be bypassed while the education of young
native people is going on. Many men will be hunting for
a long time yet and if they were given some help they
can live a good life.
Without the benefit of any help from science or serv
ices, natives are developing a culture by making remark
able adaptations to modern conveniences. They are fusing
their culture with the modes of civilization by selecting
those things that enhance their economy. They have found
many things that are compatible with their culture — a
happy medium of selecting good things of both cultures.
We cannot help but think that a study of the new
cultural change be pursued by some science qualified to
probe into it fully.
Should the natives be forced into a complete transi
tion or should they be allowed to retain some of their fine
old traditions that will leave the natives an identity and
character?