Journalist Sees Tourist Trade as
Alaska's Potential No. 1 Industry
$100 million industry to Alaska,
(Ed. Note: With charter
meetings this month to be at
tended by business men from
all over the territory to organ
ize a tourist association aimed
at bringing a new $100 million
industry to Alaska, the follow
ing story is of particular inter
est right at this time.)
By LOUIS R. HUBER
(Special Correspondent of
The Christian Science Monitor)
KOTZEBUE, Alaska—This vil
lage of 625 persons—550 Eskimos
and 75 whites — indicates that
tourism could be the northland’s
No. 1 industry and also give Alas
kan natives dignity, honor, and
steady employment.
Twenty-six miles north of the
Arctic Circle, Kotzebue stretches
along the tip of a skinny penin
sula within shouting distance, al
most, of Siberia. For centuries it
has been a trading center for Es
kimos—first their own trade, now
Eskimo and white man.
It is served daily by Alaska’s
enterprising airlines—bush pilots
with all that designation implies
in skill. These airlines are so big*
now that they look and act like
the best of stateside operators.
I arrived here in a Wien Alaska
Airlines DC-3, two hours after
taking off from Fairbanks. With
in an hour I had met enough per
sons from far - away places to
make me think this was Broad-;
way and 42nd Street.
Awaiting my plane, to return
to Fairbanks via Nome, were
George • Sundborg, consultant to
the Alaska Development Board;
George Armitage, tourist expert
from Honolulu, who has been re
tained by the board to study
Alaska’s tourist possibilities and
make recommendations for ex
pansion of tourism in the Far
North; and Charles West, head of
the Arctic Alaska Travel Agency
in Fairbanks. j
Colorfully Dressed Eskimos
Mr. West, who formerly was a |
pilot for Wien Alaska Airlines,j
began the Arctic air tours which j
in three years have brought j
thousands of air tourists here. j
We walked down the beach j
past ramshackle shanties, tents,
salmon-drying racks, and tethered I
dogs, to see the islanders from ;
Little Diomede.
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“They come over every summer
to carve ivory,” explained Nancy
Baker, vivacious girl from White
Plains, N. Y., who serves Wien’s
as greeter, cook, and guide.
All along the narrow village
street, a score of paces up from
the placid beach (tide of only six
inches here), we constantly en
countered Eskimos, colorfully
dressed, grinning their welcome
happily.
John Ipayana, a Little Diomede
Eskimo, accompanied us. He
spoke in beautiful English though
I was told his education has all
been on Little Diomede and is
equivalent only to fifth grade.
The rest, John has done for him
self.
He led us to an 8x12 tent where
a dozen of his fellow islanders
were busily at work—the men
| cutting, carving, and polishing
! ivory and the women preparing
i boiled salmon over a gasoline
j stove.
Ivory Handiwork Noted
Celia Hunter, a Fairbanks girl
who is a counterpart for Nancy
Baker, greeted a tiny Eskimo girl
who ran to her with open arms.
John showed us ivory handi
work—bracelets made of alter
nate segments of fossil and nat
ural ivory, held together by elas
tic cords. I bought one for $10
to take home to my 11-year-old
daughter.
The fossil segments are either
black or mottled brown; the nat
ural segments are white and each
has a tiny figure of an arctic an
imal carved on it—walrus, polar
bear, seal, whale. The Eskimos
know these animals intimately
from hunting them for food; their]
likeness on the bracelet are strik
I ing.
For sale also were larger an
imal figures, letter openers, crib
bage boards, steak-knife handles,
pistol grips, and so on.
Mr. Ipayana called inside the
tent to Oscar Ahkinga, who left
his squat position and came to
the tent opening.
“Oscar was held by the Rus
sians on Big Diomede Island last
year for 52 days,” said Mr. Ipa
yana. “It was the last visit our
people will ever make to Big Dio
mede. We used to go often.”
Mr. Ahkinga, who spoke Eng
lish less fluently than Mr. Ipa
yana, is 24 years old. He told me
the Russians did not maltreat him
and his comrades — there, were
two boatloads—but kept them in
tents and constantly questioned
them about life on Little Diomede
and on the Alaska mainland.
“There was one Russian who
' spoke English,” said Mr. Ahkinga.
“We didn’t tell him a thing.”
These Eskimos, incidentally, to
day are the “human radar” net
work which would first warn the
United States of an invasion—in
asmuch as the real radar network
along the Alaskan coast has not
yet been built.
The Eskimos are organized into
the Alaska National Guard,
equipped with rifles and radios,
and have assumed the responsibil
ity for keeping the Bering Sea
and Arctic Ocean coasts clear of
invaders. There is no other pro
vision—yet—in this part of the
country for repelling an invasion.
Our “Maginot Line” is the 600
mile stretch from Fairbanks down
the 470-mile Alaska Railroad
through Anchorage, and on to
Kodiak Island.
Dance Attended
In the evening we attended an
Eskimo dance in the Alaska Na
tional Guard Building—a 20-by
40-foot frame building. Chester
Seveck, a stocky, strong Eskimo,
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led his people—men and women—
though only the men beat the
tympanilike drums made of wal
rus stomachs stretched over an
18-inch hoop, with a handle at
tached.
The drums were struck with
batonlike sticks in single- and
double-beat rhythm, depending
on the particular dance; and the
Eskimos sang lustily their orien
tallike songs. There were three
types of dance; the common,
where Eskimos joined at will,
each giving his own interpreta
I tion of the musical story.
The motion dances were by a
set number of Eskimos—usually
four—with obviously worked-out
beforehand routines. These re
minded me of the familiar Amer
ican square dance, which had its
origin in medieval Europe.
The interpretive dances were
| given only by men, one man danc
, ing at a time, depicting a story
| of hunting, fishing, and other
I activities.
Missionary Society
Plans Bazaar Here
Plans for a pre-Christmas ba
zaar are now being made by the
Ladies Missionary Society of the
Church of God, members of the
group announced this week. An
announcement will be made later
of the date set for the bazaar,
which will be either the latter
part of November or the first of
December.
One of thfe latest projects of the
society was recently completed
here when a large box of warm
clothing and needed articles was
sent to a Native family at Cant
well.
An election of officers of tbr
society also was held recently.
Mrs. James Gulick was named
president; Mrs. Clarence Moore,
vice-president; Mrs. Lewis Gei
witz, secretary, and Mrs. Walter
Briggs, treasurer.
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