OFF TO LOS ANGELES—Thirteen young Alaska native men left
Fairbanks recently for electronics training at the RCA Institute at
Los Angeles, California. Front row, from left to right, Philip Peter,
Ft. Yukon; Frank Miller, Nome; Ronald Tukle, Barrow; George Itta,
Barrow; and Willie Goodwin, Kotzebue. Back row, left to right,
Gordon Nagozruk, Nome; Augustine Kasgnoc, Nome; Donald Peter,
Fort Yukon; Pete Donlun, Nome; Herbert Albert, Tanana; Oliver
Leavitt, Barrow; Roger Seetot. Teller; Charles Brower, Barrow. The
thirteen were part of a group of 44 native young men that left
Alaska for the 18-month course. —Tundra Times Photo
FIRST DAY AT WORK—Nine of ten Alaska native young men
recently employed by the RC'A Co. at the NASA Space Station at
Fox, Alaska, are shown processing in during their first day on the
job. They appear to be having quite a time with the long security
clearance applications required to be completed.
—Tundra Times Photo
Ten Native RCA Grads
To Man Space Station
In a dramatic demonstration ol
how Alaskan natives can be train
ed for highly skilled, well paying
Alaska-type jobs, last week ten
young native men were employed
for the RCA Service Co, at the
Ulaska Space Station at Fox, Alas
ka.
The young men constituted the
second class of Alaska natives to
graduate from an 18-month RCA
electronics technician course — un
der a program set up by that com
pany in conjunction with the Bu
reau of Indian Affairs.
The ten young men will literally
be plunging into the space age as
they will man the control room of
the Ulaska Data Acquisition Fa
cility of the National Aeronautics
Space Administration. They will be
operating and maintaining the
equipment that is receiving and re
cording important data from wea
ther satellites and other satellites
in space.
They will be working just around
the corner from a large computer
that will assimilate weather data
from a darkroom laboratory where
pictures of the cloud cover over
giant stretches of the earth will be
developed.
The Ulaska station on Gilmore
Creek at Fox will become partial
ly operational on September 1 and
Ketzler Urges
Minto People
Check Claim
Alfred R. Ketzler, chairman of
the Dena Nona Henash, told Tun
dra Times last week that he believed
that the Minto native rights asser
tion area as shown on the records
of the Bureau of Land office in
Fairbanks is inaccurate.
Ketzler said that it appeared the
assertion area was taken from a
map made by George Titus in 1961,
instead of the area designed on a
map filed with a protest against
state selection in 1961.
The assertion made up in 1961 is
a replica of one made up by Minto
people in 1938 and is larger in area
than the one made in 1951.
Ketzler urged that the Minto peo
ple check the assertion as shown
on the BLM records and take action
to see that the full area they claim
is recorded, if it is not already.
INSIDE CONTROL ROOM—Eight Alaska native men beam as they are being oriented during the first
day on the job at the NASA Space Station on Gilmore Creek, near Fox, Alaska. The men, who have iust
completed electronics training, will operate the highly technical equipment receiving data from the Tiros
weather satellite series. At left, in white shirt, Is their RCA Co. supervisor, E. B. Ray, technical support
< “«»rer of the station. -Tundra Times Photo j
fully operational on September 15
to receive data from the TIROS
scries of satellites. A second more
sophisticated space data acquisi
tion facility named GILMOR (with
out an “e”) being built , this sum
mer will become operational in
January, next year, to receive data
from the Nimbus satellite series.
Nine of the ten RCA graduates
reported for duty last Monday and
were welcomed by Richard Coan,
NASA director at Gilmore Crek,
and T. E. Wolfe, RCA station mana
ger.
The nine are: Harold Haldane,
Mctlakatla; Albert Morgan, Vern
F. Miller, Fairbanks; Gerald Evans.
Betties Field: Albert Adams, Katze
bue; Lawrence Peterson, Fort Yu
kon: Morris Thompson, Tanana;
Vitus Jack, Stebbins; and Roy Sny
der, Nome.
Paul Rookok, of Savoonga, was
delayed in reporting for work at
the station because of a two-week
summer training sesion with the
National Guard.
NASA Director Coan said the
young men with space age skills
could make a significant contribu
tion to the mission of the station
and at the same time their employ
ment would be beneficial to them
selves individually.
“We can help you achieve a satis
factory standard of living and at
the same time I am convinced you
can make a real contribution to
our efforts,” he said.
Coan said the young men would
be encouraged to learn more, that
RCA had a liberal tuition program
whereby the men could to take
technical correspondence courses or
courses at the University of Alaska.
He also pointed out that all RCA
employees are evaluated annually
and have the chance of moving up
to higher technician levels and su
Eskimos Make
Soup Commercial
At Los Angeles
Recently the Bureau of Indian
Affairs in Fairbanks gave a cere
monial reception for ten Alaska na
tive young men who had returned
from an 18-month RCA electronics
technicians course at Los Angeles,
California. The men were being
employed at Fox, Alaska, near Fair
banks.
Vernon Miller, of Fairbanks,
spokesman for the group, expressed
apreciation to the Bureau of Indian
Afairs and the RCA Co. for the
opportunity. He particularly lauded
recreation at Los Angeles that made
their stay there more enjoyable.
In an informal session afterward,
those young men in the group who
were married said so and a couple
of others stated their matrimonial
intentions.
“I left the girls crying at the air
port,” confessed one of the group.
Albert Adams, of Kotzebue, de
scribed an enchanting experience
he and colleagues had while at Los
Angeles — posing for a television
commercial of Campbell's Tomato
Soup.
For the fuming, seal sKin pants,
I narkas. and mukluks were rented
for three Eskimo men and the
scene was shot in a large walk-in
ice box of the Good Humor Ice
Company.
"It was about 32 degrees below
zero in there,’’ Adams said, "But
what amazed me, it took about four
hours to film the 30-second com
mercial!”
pervisory positions. The chances of
advancing in a relatively short
time, he said, are particularly good
for the members of this group since
the second space station now under
construction will require at Fox
! some positions of supervisory re
sponsibility.
MORE MOKTIJK TASTERS — Even Harvey, the clown, left, and
Smoky, the bear, right, joined throngs at the Tanana Valley Fair in
Fairbanks over the weekend to taste muktuk, the delicacy of the
Eskimos. The choice whale meat was brought from Pt. Hope and
sold by Tundra Times. —Tundra Times Photos
Umiat Meaning
Much news have been heard lately
about “Umiat,” the oil rich area
on the north slope of the Brooks
Range in Arctic Alaska.
There must have been a reason
for calling it“Umiat,” which is the
plural of "umiak,” the skinboat of
the Eskimos.
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