Interior Dept. Drafts Legislation to Settle Native Rights, Claims
The Interior Department is now
drafting legislation soon to be pro
posed for adoption by the U S. Con
gress to settle the problems of
Alaska native rights and claims, ac
cording to Secretary of Interior
Stewart L. Udall.
Secretary Udall made the state
ment last week in Washington, D.C.
to Alfred R. Ketzler, chairman of
the Interior Indian organization,
Dena Nena Henash, and an assistant
editor and publisher of Tundra
Times.
Udall declined to explain the de
tails of the Interior Department’s
proposed legislation.
Ketzler was in Washington as
special guest and principal speaker
at a meeting of the Council on In
dian Affairs, but while at the na
tion s capitol had private consulta
tion with Udall, Assistant Secretary
of Interior John Carver, Senators
E. L. ‘'Bob" Bartlett and Ernest
Gruening. and Representative Ralph
Rivers.
News Conference
He also represented the Tundra
Times at a special national foreign
policy news conference attended by
Secretary of State Dean Rusk and
President Kennedy. Normally only
news media of ten thousand or more
circulation are invited to such news
conferences, but the State Depart
ment made a special invitation for
Ketzler to attend.
Before the Council on Indian Af
fairs, made up of 16 national groups,
Ketzler disagreed sharply with some
of the recommendations of a three
man task force Secretary Udall sent
to Alaska to study native problems.
“The task force recommendations
were excellent on such things as
education and health, but were to
tally insufficient in regard to land,”
Ketzler said.
Assailed Task Foree
He particularly assailed the task
force recommendation that “small"
acreage withdrawals be made for
natives and that natives be given
“temporary use of land.”
“History has proved that the na
tive economy is destroyed when
the native loses ownership of land,”
he said.
In detail. Ket/.ler brought out the
the situation at Minto—that the
state was strenuously attempting
to select the area that was claimed,
used, and occupied by the Minto In
dian village.
He pointed out that formal claims
had been submitted to the Interior
Department by Minto in 1938 and
again in 1951, but that the Bureau
of Land Management in Fairbanks
had no record of the claim. In 1961
he said Minto had protested the
state selection and that at present
the state selection was being held
up.
Project Chariot
Ketzler also told the Council Es
kimos around Pt. Hope were ap
prehensive because they believed
the A.E.C. still had intentions of
carrying on a nuclear experiment.
Project Chariot, at Cape Thompson.
He also covered the subjects of
Rampart Dam and the oil lease con
troversy at Tyonek reservation, near
Anchorage.
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Former Scientist
At Pt. Hope Is
Parent of Baby Boy
On April 10, a baby boy was born
to Don and Berit Foote in Montreal,
Canada. The new baby has been
named, Paul.
Don Foote is now attending Mc
Gill University in Montreal. He and
his wife, Berit, lived for three
years at Point Hope until the fall
of 1962. Berit is the person respon
sible for starting a new artistic
venture at Point Hope. She gave
lessons to several people there how
to make Arctic scene prints on .seal
skin.
Don Foote was formerly employed
by the Atomic Energy Commission
investigating human resources at
Point Hope and Noatak for that
agency.
Canyon Village
Gets Teacher
Reed Nelson, former instructor
for adult education at Chalkyitsik,
has taken over the teaching of the
one-room Bureau of Indian Affairs
school at Canyon Village .He is
teacher for all eight grades.
The adult education program at
Chalkyitsik has been discontinued
since February 8, when Mr. Nel
son assumed his new duties.
The people of Point Hope remem
ber with pleasure, and note in a
recent issue of Point Hope News,
that Reed lived in Point Hope as
Episcopal Student missionary last
fall. His present mailing address is
Canyon Village, via Fort Yukon.
Game Wardens to Enforce
Migratory Bird Treaty
U.S. Fish and Wildlife game war
dens told Tundra Times today they
are patrolling the ducks and geese
returning now to Alaska and will
be strictly enforcing the Migratory
Bird Treaty of 1916 this summer.
“We have our orders and we will
enforce the treaty and will arrest
anyone we find taking ducks or
geese between now and September
1,” said Ray Tremblay, head of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife service here.
Tremlay said the 10 federal game
wardens of the state would be pa
trolling the villages and would ar
rest any natives they found taking
the waterfowl.
Ray Wolford, acting regional di
rector of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Juneau, recently said,
“There has been no change in the
Migratory Waterfowl Treaty or reg
ulations.”
Urban Nelson, former regional
head of the wildlife service, has
been transferred from Alaska to
Minnesota and on July 1 Alaska as
“Region 6" will go out of existence.
Alaska will then become part of Re- \
gion 1 which has its headquarters in j
Portland. Ore.
Despite strong stands in favor |
of natives taking ducks and geese !
for food by the Alaska congressional
delegation. Governor William A.
Egan, the State Legislature and
such organizations as the 3-million
strong Presbyterian Church, game
officials maintain the treaty is the
law and they will enforce it.
Asked about the decision by a
Canadian appellate court holding
that Canadian Indians and Eskimos
taking of ducks and geese for food
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"That was just one man’s opin
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Crown had appealed the case to a
higher court.
Student Training
To Become Nurse
Mary Ann Rexford, of Kaktovik.
is now taking nurse's training at the
University of Alaska near Fair
banks. She is in her sophomore year.
When asked where she would like
to work after graduation, she said.
“I want to go back to my village
and be a nurse there.”
Severe Storms
At Kaktovik
This Year
Isaac Akootchook, of Kaktovik, on
Barter Island, was a delegate to the
Presbytery Convention in conjunc*
tion with the Missionary District fop
the Episcopal Church. The convert*
tion took place in Fairbanks.
Akootchook said there had been
frequent severe storms at Kaktovilc
this year. Caribou hunting has not
been good due to bad weather.
Akootchooks have six children,
three girls and three boys. Ida is
now attending the Sheldon Jackson
Jackson Junior College at Sitka,
Ben, at Chemawa. Oregon, and Jane
is at Wrangell Institute.
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