TOTAL POLAR SOLAR ECLIPSE—On Saturday about 10 a.m., the moon came between the sun and
the earth, the sky became dark, the temperature fell sharply, and Alaskans witnessed an eclipse. Uni
versity of Alaska scientists made the most of the occasion in a B-17 flying observatory over a spot in
the Northwest Territories that experiences the greatest auroral activity. The National Aeronautics
Space Administration sent up rockets to record comet activity near the sun. Most Alaskans, while they
had the opportunity, did not view the eclipse directly. To protect their eyes, they viewed its reflection
on cardboard. Total blackout was experienced at Bethel, Aniak, Talkeetna, Curry, Paxson, Sourdough,
Gulkana. Slana, Northway, Ft. Selkirk, and Snag. —University of Alaska Photo
PEOPLE ASTOUNDED, BUT
Medicine Men Regains Prestige
By Accurately Predicting Eclipse
Everybody’s
A Specialist
By Cy Peck, Jr.
Assistant Editor
i Reprinted from the Voice of
Brotherhood t
Everywhere you go nowadays,
there, lo and behold, is an expert,
special consultant, or a specialist.
Take the following slightly exag
gerated account of my visit to a
governmental agency.
The first Expert 1 met. while
Visiting the department, was the
Reception Specialist. The Recep
tion Specialist made me wait for
Bn hour before sending me along
to the Expert Special Consultant.
Instead, the Expert Special Consul
tant indicated that 1 should see the
Expert Administrative Specialist.
It finally became mud-clear after
the Special Assistant to the Tech
nical Analyst Consultant said, “See
the Special Economic-coordinator
Consultant Specialist.”
I was informed two hours later,
by a mere Specialist, that I was
Consulting the wrong department.
So. I asked the Special Assistant
to the Elevation Analytical-techni
cian Specialist (an elevator opera
tor) to take me back down to the
first floor.
Alaska could use a few more
Special Consultants to the Experts j
•*> Alaska’s growing pains; pains I
fbat are caused by all Expert Spe- I
Bbtlists. I
* By Howard Rock
Times Editor
“No one knew how he ever man
I aged to get the information, but
| the old shaman predicted that the
j sun would disappear for a while on
j a certain day,” said the late Wil
liam T. Lopp. He was recalling an
incident that took place many years
ago at Cape Prince of Wales, when
an old shaman who had lost some
I of the respect he enjoyed as a medi
! cine man, regained it by completely
baffling the people of his village,
i It is improbable that Lopp would
have invented the story he told.
He was an ex-minister and for some
1 years he was head of the Bureau
of Education in Alaska. He was
widely known also as an able ad
ministrator in the establishment of
reindeer industry among the Eski
mos in Northern Alaska.
According to Lopp. one evening
the old medicine man began to
perform his ritual of shamanism.
He chanted, went into contortions,
and finally went into a trance. Af
ter some time, he began to show
some signs of life. Soon, he seemed
to be in his proper senses. Then
with great mysticism he began to
1 intone predictions to the crowd
around him.
“The sun will shine in the normal
manner six days. On the seventh
day, before it reaches the apex of
its travel in the sky, the sun will
depart this earth and there will be
darkness — night in the middle of
the day. The darkness will last
equal to the time you walk around
your igloo five times” the old
shaman droned.
The people of the village were far
| from impressed with the prediction.
I Seme even dared to make mockery
of him — behind his back, of
course. Some said, “He is so old
that he is beginning to make im
probable predictions. How can the
sun disappear in the middle of the
day without setting.”
The morning of the seventh day
the sun came up on a clear sky and
people went around their business
as usual. Many of them had for
gotten the old shaman’s prediction.
There were few who remembered
but the improbability of it was very
strong in their minds.
Then it began to happen. The
sun begun to disappear! In a very
short time it was out of sight clear
out of the blue sky and the world
was in sudden darkness — night in
the middle of the day! Then it re
appeared in about the time it took
one to walk around one’s igloo five
times.
The people of the village were
astounded to say the least. There
after, their awe of the old shaman
was boundless. The old man enjoyed
this deep respect to the end of his
days.
Finest Guides
Bring a guide along for walrus
hunting? What for? A boat captain,
or Eskimo hunter, is the best hunt
ing guide in our villages. He knows
where the game is and knows the
weather in his immediate vicinity.
He has thorough knowledge of these
things.
Attention walrus hunters: when
you come to hunt walrus don't bring
a guide. Your best guide, the Es
kimo hunter, is here waiting for
you.
BENNETT TO EXPLAIN WHY
BIA Plans to Convert Bethel
AFB for Administrative Use
Robert L. Bennett, area director
of tlie Bureau of Indian Afafirs,
will explain to a group of Bethel
citizens tonight why the Bureau 1
feels it is more feasible to convert ]
flic abandoned Bethel Air Force Base
for BIA administrative use than
for use as a high school board fa
cility.
In on exclusive interview with
Tundra Times. Bennett said a study
had revealed it was economically
unsound to convert the abandoned
base for a dormitory facility, that
there was not room for 150 students
in the present Bethel High school
and no plans for its expansion by
the state.
The greatest need in the Lower
Yukon-Kuskokwim area. Bennett
said, is for Bureau services. He
stressed these service had been cur
tailed or denied the region because
of lack of administrative offices and
housing for BIA personnel.
Bennett was questioned at length
after Tundra Times received the
following telegram from the Bethel
Citizens Committee:
“Bethel Citizens Committee urges
you to publicize the fact they op
pose BIA plan to use the multi-mil
lion dollar Bethel AFB for adminis
trative use.
“We contend almost no renova
tion needed for board facility for
high school students, but great cost
is involved in renovating for offices
and apartments for a few em
ployees.
Price Renamed
Indian Arts
Board Member
Secretary of the Interior Stewart
L. Vdall recently announced the
reappointment of Vincent Price, the
actor and art conoisseur, for an
additional four-year term as a mem
ber of the Indian Arts and Crafts
Board.
Price, of Los Angeles. Califor
nia. was first appointed to the
Board in 1957 to fill the unexpired
term of William J. Lippincott. In
light of his distinguished service
in the advancement of Indian arts
and crafts, he was reappointed to
the Board again in 1959. His cur
rent term started July 6 and ex
pires July 6, 1967.
As one of the five commissioners
on the Board, Price will share the
responsibility of operating two In
dian museums. He will also aid in
the establishment of policies for
the many field staffs which work
directly with the Indian craftsmen
and artists — giving them advisory
assistance in the production, pricing,
publicity, marketing, and the main
tenance of trade standards.
Price will serve on the present
Board with its chairman. Dr. Fred
erick J. Dockstader, director of the
Museum of the American Indian,
New York, N. Y.; Rene d’Harnon
court, director. Museum of Modern
Art, New York, N.Y.; Erich Kohl
berg, international dealer in arts
and crafts, of Denver, Colorado:
and Lloyd New Kiva, artist-crafts
man and director of arts at the In
stitute of American Indian Art in
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Indian Arts and Crafts Board
was created as a part of the Depart
ment of the Interior by an act of
Congress in 1935. Its function and
duty is the promotion of economic
welfare of Indian people through
the development of their arts and
crafts and the expansion of the
market for such products. Mem
bers of the Board are appointed by
the Secretary of the Interior and
serve without pay.
“Boarding high school badly
needed in Kuskowim and Yukon
River Delta. No apparent plan for
high school education for natives
of this area less than one thousand
miles from home.
“Air Force Base six miles out of
town makes accessibility to natives
without private cars very costly un
less BIA plans monorail or equiv
! alent.”
The telegram was sent to a num
ber of persons including legislators,
the Alaska Congressional deloga
! tion. news media, Governor William
A. Egan, and the President of the
United States.
In countering the contention by
the cemmittee, Bennett said the ed
ucational needs of the region were
being substantially met but said
other needs approaching the critical
point were not being met because
of lack of administrative offices
and staff housing.
“We decided after careful study
that the long range best benefit
would be to establish a regional ad
ministrative site,” he added.
The estimate of renovating the
military base for an administrative
facility is $1 million compared with
$1.6 million to build it outright,
saving taxpayers over half million
dollars, Bennett pointed out.
“We consider the facility for a
dormitory but we have to build and
operate a dormitry according to cer
tain standards bearing in mind the
care and welfare of children,” he
said.
“To convert this facility to our
standards would require $2 million
and the cost of operating it would
be between $2,000 and $3,000 per
year per student after it was con
verted.” he said.
“And this doesn’t count the cost
of teaching the students: they would
have to be taken to Bethel.”
Bethel doesn’t have enough room
to take care of 150 students and the
state department of education has
no immediate plans of building a
new school or enlarging the present
one, he said.
The area director went on to ex
plain that a 9th grade had been
started at Wrangell Institute this
year to take the pressure off Mt.
Edgecumbe High School and that
unexpectedly 150 more spaces had
been made available at Chemawa
Indian School in Oregon for Alaska
students this year.
In addition, he pointed out that
the bureau already had appropria
tions for the building next year of
210-capacity high schools at Barrow
and Kotzebue and the state is build
ing the Nome Vocational School.
This year, for the first time. Ben
nett said the BIA would have space
available for all 8th grade gradu
ates that wanted to continue their
education to the 9th grade.
Bennett said the BIA had also
considered the recommendation that
the military base be converted into
both a high school and boarding
facility but he said that it had been
estimated this would cost $4.3 mil
lion to accommodate 150 students
and that operating costs would be
prohibitive.
He explained that for the last five
to ten years the BIA had proposed
constructing administrative offices
and housing in the lower Yukon
Kuskokwim area but that it had
always been in such a low priority,
it had never been approved.
“This may be our only chance to
get an administrative headquarters
at a great savings,” he concluded.
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