NEW SCHOOL AT GRAYLING—The new community of Grayling, on the Yukon River above Anvlk
Is progressing nicely, according to reports. One of the new buildings, the all-important school, is
shown here in this photo taken by Grant Pearson, state legislator, who made a trip down the Yu
i kon River before freeze-up. Pearson says the Gravling citizens, formerly of Hnlikachuk, are getting
along OK. Their building program is sponsored by the Alaska State Housing Authority and the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. —Photo by Grant Pearson
Tundra Times
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now! Dept. I, Box 1271, Juneau, I
Alaska. UF (
Whale Hunter and
Wife Make Visit
To Tundra Times
Rugged and amiable Paul Matu- 1
meak, 59, of Barrow, recently came 1
to Fairbanks with his wife, Mamie, |
49, to spend the winter.
Matumeak is a veteran whale
hunter. He has taken 12 bowhead
whales during his career, four of
which he took as captain of his own
crew.
He lost his umiak in the recent
Letter to Editor
, 40 Leonard St.
I Foxboro, Mass.
I October 28, 1963
I Dear Mr. Rock:
Please accept my congratulations
on your first year of publication
of Tundra Times and your fine rec
ord of accomplishment.
You have achieved great results
in a short time and I am sure that
vour success will continue and in
crease with the coming years.
Enclosed is my check ($12.00) for
one years subscription via air mail
to start at the expiration of my
present subscription fwhich was a
( Hi ft so I do not know the date.) j
The enclosed clipping is from the
Foxboro Reporter for which I write
a weekly column after retirement. |
I visited Alaska with a group
from the National Editorial Ass’n.
in August. 1959. it was a short but
memorable visit.
Best wishes for your continued
success.
Sincerely,
James H. Marsden
Barrow storm. He is not sure j
whether he will go whaling when I
the spring season comes around.
Paul and Mamie have 6 children.
1 Paul is a home movie enthusiast
I and has several films of life in Bar
I row. He has films of whaling, polar
1 bear cubs, church goers, and other
' subjects.
Copper Center PT A to Sponsor Student
To Nation’s Capitol Next Spring
The Copper Center PTA is plan
ning to send a local native student
to Washington, D. C. this coming
'Nice Summer
This Winter'
Interior Alaska was blessed with
a beautiful fall this year. Clear
days, golden leaves, blue skies, all
the type of weather conditions that
are usually only found on calendar
paintings. Even the cold of winter
held off for a long time.
The nice fall followed a poor sum
mer however. The summer was
marred by closely spaced, recur
rent rainy spells, and cool tempera
tures.
Many persons have commented
on the weather, as usual; but the
most appropriate comment came
to the Tundra Times from a Fair
banks taxi driver who reported an I
elderly Indian recently remarked
to him. “Nice summer we’re having
this winter, isn’t it?” j
spring, according to Donna Don
nelly, secretary of the club.
Purpose is to enlighten a native
student as to actual experiences
with lower state conditions, and
familiarize the student with our
seat of government.
“It is one thing to read about our
great and wonderful country, but to
many of our native population who
have seen nothing larger than An
chorage, it is very difficudt to con
ceive of such marvels as will be
encountered on a tour of our capi
tol, a PTA announcement stated.
The student will be chosen not
only by scholastic standard, but
also personality and ability to con
verse freely, and be at ease among
new surroundings.
“The student will be a represent
ative of our village, and one we
will all be proud of,” the statement
read.
The Copper Center PTA is now
busy with a fund raising drive. The I
theme of this year’s PTA is “Edu- \
cation Through Travel.” J;
Gov. Proclaims
This as Art Week
Governor William A. Egan last
week proclaimed the first seven
days in November as “American
Art Week in Alaska.”
In his proclamation Governor
Egan emphasized the part that Art
has played in preserving history
and imparting a knowledge of pre
historic man. “Historic Art is often
tile sole survivor of lost and extinct
cities and peoples,” the Governor
said. “Primitive art in Alaska plays
a leading role in preserving the
traditions and culture of this State’s
original inhabitants.” Governor
Egan concluded.
Governor Egan's proclamation was
issued at the request of the Alaska
Chapter of the American Artists
and Professional League, Inc.
University Gets
Russian Kettles
The University of Alaska Mu
seum recently acquired several
new additions to the Weatherby
Collection of Alaskan relics. The
additions, a group of Russian ket
tles, were presented to the Mu
seum by Mrs. Rose McCullough of
California. The donation was ar
ranged through Dr. G. Dallas Han
na of the California Academy of
Sciences and Museum Director Lou
Rowinski, while Rowinski was in
San Francisco for the Western Mu
seum League Conference Oct. 11-13.
The Weatherby Collection in
cludes historical photographs, bas
kets and a number of Russian cop
per kettles collected by the Wether
by family while they were operat
ing a fish cannery on the Kenai
Peninsula.
Haines Cutoff To
Be Kept Open
The Haines cut-off, from the
Alaskan Highway in Yukon Terri
tory, to the Alaska port city of
Haines, will be kept open this win
ter on an experimental basis, ac
cording to Gov. William A. Egan.
Arthur Liang, minister of north
ern affairs and natural resources
for Canada recently made the an
nouncement to Gov. Egan, though
P. J. Lester, mayor of Prince
Rupert, B.C.
Cost of keeping the highway I
open through Canada has been es
timated at $203,000 this winter. It
will serve to make the Alaska Ma
rine Highway System, from Prince
Rupert to Haines, operable all year
Rampart Dam Editorial
(Reprinted from the San Francisco Examiner)
The California Fish and Game Commission has turned
considerable light, and some heat, on the proposed Ram
part Dam power project on the Yukon River in Alaska.
The genesis of the project was in the desire of Alas
kans for a fresh water lake larger than the state of New
Jersey, capable of producing twice the electricity coming
from Grand Coulee Dam. Capable too, as some Alaskans
hope, of giving the 49th State a warmer climate. Senator
Ernest Gruening of Alaska got the U.S. Senate to appropri
ate $135,000 in 1959 for a study by the Army Engineer
ing Corps. (Ed. note-, to date $1 million has been spent by
the Corps.)
This is a grandioise scheme. Rampart Dam would be
525 feet high, and would inundate 11,000 square miles.
The California commission's interest is this:
Eight thousand square miles of the area to be flooded
is prime waterfowl habitat. One and a half million ducks,
geese and cranes enter the Pacific Flyway each year from
the area.
The area is big game habitat too; 5,000 moose would
be lost, along with numberless caribou, furbearers and
small game animals.
Major fish runs are involved. The king salmon run
there in 1961 was 22,000.
California has major concern in all these areas, and
most specifically in the Yukon River as the refuge from
primordial times of the Pacific Flyway.
The Sierra Club has taken substantially the same
position as the commission, in opposition to Rampart Dam. *
Prime purpose of Rampart Dam would be to create
a new and mighty source of power. There is no quarrel |
with that, certainly. But the California commission offers
some pertinent thoughts.
Should such a goal be pursued without adequate
provision for prevention of wildlife losses? Has full effort
been made to determine if the many rivers in Alaska of
steeper gradient than the Yukon, but less important to
wildlife, might offer power sites equal to Rampart Dam?
i The commission wonders too, where the market is
to be for Rampart power; and if development of nuclear
power might not obviate the necessity for waterfall energy,
possibly within the years it would take to build Rampart
Dam after construction starts.
These are fair questions, asked by properly con
ducted authority. It is not unreasonable to expect authori
tative answers before the Rampart plans are "finalized" as
the bureaucrats like to say.
Disturbance of wildlife resources is no minor thing.
The balance of nature is put askew at more peril to hu
mans than many realize. No one expects the growth of
civilization to stop when the path of a providential Nature
is crossed. But civilization must not run roughshod over
jNature either.
Few Collegians
Place in Alaska
Of more than 400 1963 Pacific
Northwest college graduates given
federal jobs in the Pacific North
west, only nine were assigned to
jobs in Alaska.
According to a release from the
Seattle Region, U.S. Civil Service
Commission they were: University
of Alaska, Leon C. Getz, electrical
engineer, Corps of Engineers, and
Rondal C. Hogan, teacher for BIA,
Kotzebue: Southern Oregon College
of Education, David L. Dickerson,
administrative assistant, Forest
Service, Juneau; Central Washing
ton College, Dean T. Smith, admin
istrative assistant, Forest Service,
Sitka; Pacific Lutheran University,
Mr. and Mrs. Lorance O. Schoen
berg, teachers for BIA, Barrow;
University of Washington, John B.
Matheies, forester U Forest Service,
Chugach Forest, Donald L. Voss,
administrative assistant, Forest
Service, Juneau; Whitworth Col
lege, Iathan R. Maddox, contract,
assistant, Forest Service, Juneau.
around for residents of Interior
Alaska and Yukon.
Thep rogram will be re-evaluated
next spring, it was said.
Skin Prints Sold at
N. Y. Arts Center
Two unique seal skin prints were
sold recently at the American In
dian Arts Center in New York.
The two art pieces were done by
John Tingook and Calvin Okollik.
Both men are residents of Point
Hope.
Tingook and Okollik are hunters.
When they find time they work on
the prints depicting life in the
north. They do whales, polar bears,
seal hunters, and other northern
subjects.
The American Indian Arts Cen
| ter is operated by the Association
on American Indian Affairs, Inc.,
an organization that dedicates it
self to help the Indians and Eski
mos on their economic and other
problems.
Who are some interesting people
in your area? Old folks with a good
memory of the past; young people
who are going places; community
leaders; all make good subjects for
articles.
Let the Tundra Times know about
these people and their activities,
and we will tell others about these
outstanding individuals.