COMMUNITY CARIBOU HUNT SET
By Thomas Snapp
' Times Staff Writer
Native Indian hunters from six
Interior Alaska villages are eagerly
awaiting a bus that will take them
on a giant caribou hunt from which
they hope to obtain the greater part
ot this winter's meat supply.
The hunt will take place as thou
sands of caribou cross the Taylor
Highway in Alaska's great Forty
Mile Country in the Upper Tanana
Valley.
An estimated 450 caribou or 36.
000 pounds of meat, valued at 50
cents a pound or S18.000, were taken
by 150 hunters in the first such
hunt conducted last year.
Last year’s hunt consisted of
hunters from Northway, Tanacross
and Tetlin. Three more villages.
Eagle. Mentasta and Dot Lake will
participate this year.
The bus that will be used in mak
ing trips transporting hunters from
their villages to the hunt area was
purchased by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs this year. It was used ex
tensively transporting native stu
dents at the summer program at the
University of Alaska.
As soon as caribou are sighted
crossing in large numbers, word
will be flashed to the Fairbanks
regional BIA office and within 24
hours hunters will be on their way
to the hunt area.
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| As was the case last year, a camp
site will be established near the
home of Robert McComb at South
Fork.
Much Planning
The hunt has been planned care
fully with the assistance of Robert
Carroll. BIA social worker, who
won one of the top awards handed
out by the Bureau for his efforts
in connection with last year’s hunt.
The community hunt was spon
sored by the Bureau of Indian Af
j fairs last year to help the financial
| lv pressed villagers and it is being
; continued this year for the same
reason.
Last year the villagers were
plagued with high waters which
made salmon fishing poor, the con
j struction season was late and only
a few were employed, and because
of prolonged wet weather there was
little forest firefighting, a usual
summer employment.
This year the villages were beset
with the worst floods in years.
Some interior villages were evacu
ated to Fairbanks. Some were flood
ed as many as three or four times.
Three area residents, Robert Me
Comb of South Fork, Mrs. Ann
Purdy of Chicken, and Floyd Mil
, ler of Northway, are cooperating
! with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and the villagers in the hunt.
Much planning has been done so
there will be no infractions of game
regulations.
No hunting will be done on week
ends since during these periods
there are great concentrations of
people on the Taylor Highway.
v
Cooling Racks
Upon reaching the hunting sites,
the first item of activity will be the
building of cooling racks for the
hanging and curing cf animals
killed. All animals will be tho
roughly opened and entrails re
moved before they are transported
in sealed trucks to the villages.
I Last year seven animals were
lost because they were transported
before they had been properly
dressed and cooled.
The hunt is being closely coordi
nated with the State Fish and Game
Department.
A supply of blank game tags
have been procured and sent to
each of the participating villages.
Each hunter will place his or her
name and number on three of the
tags. They will be immediately at
tached to animals as they are killed.
For Research
A number of game agents will be
on hand to remove the eyeballs
and lower jaws of each animal for
use in biological research.
At least two officials of the BIA
will be present on the hunt. One
| will be in constant touch with the
hunters and the second will be at
a gathering point to which the ani
i mals will be brought.
One of the highlights of last year’s
hunt came when an RO-year-old man
and his wife showed up to take part.
The man was wearing tennis shces
without socks and didn’t have a
rifle.
Boots, socks and a rifle were
loaned to him and he and his wife
| were let out of a truck near the
| top of a hill.
By the time the truck had gone
down the hill, letting hunters off
at various points and had turned
arcund to return, the old man and
woman were spotted, standing over
six prime caribou they had already
killed.
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Re-Elect and Return
State Senator
PAUL GREIMANN, SR.
General Election November 6
"I APPRECIATE BEING A MEMBER OF THE
ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD"
Republican — District M
(Paid Political AdvJ
Officer Speaks . . .
(Continued from Page 1>
advice but think about it a little
while anyway. What i'm saying es
sentially is: when you go before
your state legislature and say, “We
should have the right to hunt and
fish whenever we please because
we are Indians, you are going to
get less of a favorable reception
than if you go before the state leg
islature and say, “We are citizens
of the state of Alaska who are in
need; game is abundant and avail
able and we feel we should have
some right to take it when we need
it. And we feel that is a right that
we should share with the Eskimos,
with the white men and with any
one else in the state of Alaska who
is in the same economic condition.
That is simply my advice to you
and you don't have to accept it. It
is worth what you paid for it per
haps. but think about it anyway.
I say some of the same is true
with respect to land. American law
in general is not without protec
tion for the individual who has oc
cupied and used land for long per
iods of time.
You can still seek some relief
from your land problems at pres
ent, if you use those channels as
well as those that are available to
you because cf your special status
as Natives of Alaska.
Use all the facilities at your com
mand in order to achieve what you
feci is properly yours, but rely for
justice as much on the basis of legal
precedent as on the basis of the
fact that you are a special category
citizen.
Again, this is my advice to you
for whatever it may be worth.
Negligence
Ycu have a unique opportunity I
think in Alaska that not all of the
Indian tribes have had.
You do have an established citi
zenship right; you haven't in every
case already lost your land; there
are still other avenues you can use
to obtain title to some of it, per
haps even to all cf it in some cases.
I feel that the Bureau of Indian
Affairs has been very negligent —
you haven’t been criticizing the Bu
reau much today so I am going to
take the opportunity to criticize a
little bit — has been very negligent
over the years in not helping you to
get this land situation straightened
out a long time ago.
We have advocated what I think
is our responsibility, to one of our
sister agencies, the Bureau of Land
Management, and we are finding
out, not so gradually that we can’t
always depend on the BLM to look
at the problem the same way we
do.
Specialists
I said earlier that I was going to
recommend — and I'm pretty sure
the other two gentlemen on the
Task Force will go along with me
— I'm going to recommend that we
put land specialists into these areas
as quickly as possible, to try to help
you to understand what your status
is in so far as your land is con
cerned. and to help you get what it
appears the law will allow you.
We are considering some legisla
tion of cur own right now. It may
not get you everything you have
been told you are entitled to. or
that you feel you are entitled to,
but it would certainly dlarify a
lot cf things that are not clear at
the present time, and help you to
get title to things that you don't
have title to right now.
I pledge you very, very honestly
here that I’ll do my best to see
that you get the land situation
straightened cut as quickly as pos
sible, if not to yodP entire satisfac
tion, at least an improvement over
what it is right now. Thank you
very much.
Re-Elect
WARREN A. TAYLOR
DEMOCRAT
Representative
to the
Alaska State Legislature
Nov. 6 General Election
Member of the House for 10 Sessions
• - £
Speaker of the House
for the hast 4 Sessions
(Paid Political Adv.)