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Eskimo Indian
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Inupiat Paitot jfak_SSL_ 4 j Dena Nena Henash
"People's Heritage" ^ "The |and speaks"
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Vo(. 1, No. 2 Monday, Oc*. 15, 1962 Fairbanks, Alaska
INUPIAT PAITOT STARTS THURSDAY
'Hedda Hopper of the Arctic'
Alaska's Champion Hat Designer
By THOMAS SNAPP *
Tines Staff Writer
Without doubt, Mrs. Olivia (01
lie)’Palmer, Eskimo mother of five
from Anchorage, is Alaskans cham
pion hat-maker.
For the past four years in a row,
she has won the top prize at the
Anchorage Fur Rendezvous for
making the most unusual hat.
This year she won the top. award
with a black seal skin hat shaped
like a tea kettle.
The striking simplicity of the hat
is exceeded only by its practicality.
The hat also doubles as a purse.
Just take off the top of the tea
kettle hat and there is a place for
odds and ends of the wearer.
Sun Bonnet
Formerly of Pt. Hope, Mrs.
Palmer first entdred hat design
competition in 1959 when she be
came employed by Jonas Brothers
of Anchorage. That year she made
a fur sun bonnet that was the rave
of the state’s largest city.
For hours she worked on the hat,
fashioning on wire framing 25 gray
fox tails. After the contest, the eye
catching broad brimmed hat was
placed on exhibition at Jonas Broth
ers but is now on exhibit for thou
sands of tourists at Seattle’s World
Fair.
Silver Fox
The second year, I960,- Ollie made
a hat in 15 minutes. She simply
tucked the head of ...» silver - fox
skin InSide. wore 'abottt half the
skin and the tail hafiging down her
back, hooked the two hind legs
underneath her chin. And again she
walked off with the blue ribbon!
It is little wonder that she is
known as the “Hedda Hopper of
Alaska.” Scores of people compli
ment her on her hats and she sim
ply answers, “Only crazy people
make crazy hats."
“When I think of that silver fox
hat. I sometimes A'ondcr how I had
enough nerve to model it,” Ollie
says.
King Crib
Last year Ollie again amazed the
crowds and astounded the judges
at the Fur Rendezvous with a hat
in the shape of a giant king crab.
She made the legs and the pinchers
out of wire stiffeners covered with
rabbit skins, sewed on some eyes,
and put on sorrie stiff threads for
whiskers.
The king crab hat, which was
pink then but now has turned white,
is on exhibit at the Anchorage
U.S.O,
(Continued on Page 8)
THE TEA KETTLE HAT—Mrs. Ollle Palmer, Eskimo mother of five
from Anchorage, models the unusual tea kettle hat made of dyed
hair seal skin that won for her top prise at the Anchorage Fur Ren
dezvous this year. Mrs. Palmer is shown at Jonas Brothers where
she works. The giant Jonas Brothers polar hear in the background
seems to be voicipg his approval. —Staff photo.
James Officer
Officer Speaks
To Indian Meet
By James Officer
Assistant Commissioner
Bureau of Indian Affairs
(This is the verbatim text of a
speech made by Assistant Com
missioner Officer, Bureau of In
dian Affairs, at the Tanana In
dian Conference in June.)
I I believe this meeting is a good
| thing if it only provides the oppor
I tunity for you to get together and
j discover the fact that you have a
lot of problems that are similar.
I This often produces a cooperative
and joint effort at problem solving
that is much better than an indi- j
vidual effort.
I would especially urge you to
use the political means at your i
disposal to try to help get some of
these problems solved.
Many of the things you've talked
about are problems that involve
your relationship with your own
state government.
Nothing speaks quite so well for
you as a political voice when it
comes to these kinds of problems.
1 I hope you all vote in your state
election, and I hope you vote for
the people who promise to do the
things for you that you feel you
need, and against those who either
don't promise to do those things or
who have demonstrated that while
they may promise them, they won’t
deliver on those promises.
Now. as long as l am Here do
ing a little preaching to you. I’d
like to suggest another bit of polit
ical wisdom: and I think it is wis
dom that all of you may not recog
nize as wisdom or be willing to
acknowledge as wisdom.
Some of the things you want, such
as a change in your game regula
tions, are things that you might
achieve more easily if you set out
to obtain them for yourselves be
cause you need them rather than
because you are Indian.
What I mean by this is that there
is always a segment of people who
are not Indians who resent the fact
that, in some places and in some
cases, Indians have rights which
they don’t have or maintain that
they have rights which others don’t.
have.
Stresses Need
I have always contended and I
still feel that your strongest hope
in trying to get some sort of change
in your hunting and fishing regula
tions is to go for a change on the
basis of need and not on the basis
of race. This is just me talking to
you.
You don't have to follow that
(Continued on Page 6)
Assf. BIA Commissioner,
Top Economic Officials
To Attend Conference
James E. Officer, assistant com-*"
missioner of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, and top economic develop
ment officials of the Washington, j
D.C. BIA office, will be on hand I
for the second Inupiat Paitot con-'
ference to be held at Kotzebue this
week.
Delegates of approximately 20
widely separated Eskimo villages
will attend.
Dr. Paul Phillips, chief of proj
ect planning for economic develop- |
ment and Dr. John Abrahamson, I
chief economist, BIA Project De
velopment, both from Washington,
D.C., will be present.
Robert L. Bennett, area director
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in
Alaska, will not be able to attend
due to long standing commitment
from the Alaska Native Brother
hood convention scheduled for the
same time in Sftka.
Three state BIA officials, how
ever. will be present: Charles Hall,
assistant area realty officer, Ross L.
Miller, area industrial development
officer, and Art Nagozruk, a full
blooded Eskimo from Nome recent
ly appointed tribal operations cffi-.
cer.
The meeting will begin Thursday
with a public session at which del
egates will air the problems of thair
villages and the session will be fol
lowed by committee workshop ses
sions. The meeting will conclude
Saturday with the reading of a for
mally adopted statement.
Here are the delegates slated to
attend the meeting:
George Washington, Sr., Buck
I land; George L. Dan, Stebbins: Ed
ward J. Shavings. Mekoryuk: Alex
ander Vaska, Kalskag; Bill Amuak,
1 Marshall; Carl Kwagley, Bethel;
Herman Rexford, Barter Island.
I David Kagak. Wainwright; Hank
| Kanayurak and Guy Okakok. Bar
row; David Frankson. Pt. Hope;
Herbert Onalik. Noatak; Simon
j Paneak, Anaktuvuk Pass; Felton
I Commack, Kobuk; and Jonah To
kianna. Wales.
i David Sacc'ieus, Elim; Willis
Walunga, Gambell; Frank Degnan,
(Continued on Page 81
Editorial
Vocational Schools
The need for vocational training is becoming acute
in Alaska. Since cash has become a necessary part of the
native's livelihood, it is imperative that the native be em
ployed. There has been too little done to help the native
become trained for the kind of jobs available in Alaska.
Too many natives looking for work are being turned
down because they are unqualified. In this time of highly
specialized training this situation will get worse instead of
better unless steps are taken at once.
One remedy that is certain to better the lot of the
native is the establishment of vocational schools. The need
is a great one.
At present more than 700 students who graduated
from the eighth grade last school season will not have a
chance to go on to high school because there is no room.
They will not be able to obtain vocational training because
vocational schools are non-existent in the state. Even Mt.
Edgecumbe has cut out its vocational program. The future
of these 700 youth is bleak because little is being done
to help them further their preparation for life.
For years practically everyone, from government of
ficials to the common Alaska citizen, has agreed that voca
tional schools are needed. But there has been too much
talk and not enough action along this line. It is time that
we got out of the talking stage and into the building stage
of vocational schools.
We do not mean that exclusive emphasis should be
placed on vocational training because we will need alsd
lawyers, doctors and other professional people. Academic
high school education is definitely needed.
On the other hand, the RCA program of training
young Alaska men has proved conclusively that Alaskans
are capable of high level vocational training.
(Continued on Page 2)