The Chemawa American, February 07, 1917, Page 4, Image 4

PAG E 4
T H E C H E M A W A A M E R IC A N
OUR STRANGE PEOPLE TO THE NORTH
By Frank G. Carpenter
T h e In d ian s of in terio r A laska are excited over the
b u ild in g of th e governm ent railroad. T h ey see the
w hites ta k in g up hom esteads, and fear th ey w ill sw al­
low th e co u n try . T h ey know th e fate of the In d ian s
of th e U nited States proper, and they w ant th e g o v ern ­
m ent to set aside land w here th eir fishing and h u n t­
ing will not be d istu rb ed . N ot long ago, the seven
chiefs of the tribes of the T an an a and Y ukon valleys
met at F airb an k s. T h ey cam e to consult w ith their
friends am ong the w hites, and see if th e governm ent
could not be induced to give them a reservation. In
ta lk in g w ith them Ju d g e W ickersham , th e A laska
delegate to Congress, advised them to have their people
tak e out a lot of hom esteads in one block. H e said it
w ould be difficult for them to do this afte r the w hites
had come in, and said they should act pro m p tly . O ne
of th e chiefs replied th a t he th o u g h t all of A laska b e­
longed to the red m en, and he w anted to know w hat
th e conditions actually w ere.
T hese In d ian s would r a th e r have a larg e reserva­
tion th an a num ber of individual hom esteads. T h ey
w an t to live to g eth er and keep o u t th e w hites. M ore­
over, they need large tra c ts for tra p p in g , and th e fur
business will be w iped out by th e division of the land.
T h e governm ent has been se ttin g aside reservations
for th e In d ian s in various p arts of A laska. T h e A leu ­
tia n Islan d s are practically one reservation. A n n ette
Islan d , w here M etlakatla is located, is an o th er, and
th e H y d ab u rg reservation, co n sistin g of tw elve square
miles on th e w estern coast of P rince of W ales Island,
is a th ird . T h e trac t of 800 acres on th e C hilkat
river, not far from S kagw ay, has been given to the
K lukw an In d ian s, and th ere are forest reservations
w here th e In d ian can tra p and h u n t at w ill.
T h e In d ian chiefs who m et at F airb an k s to council
w ith th e w hites were rem arkable m en. T h ey w ere
tall and fine looking. T h ey w ore clothes w hich w ere
m uch the sam e as th e w hites, save th a t they had on
th eir cerem onial jackets bordered w ith fu r, and beaded
m occasins covered th eir feet. E ach wore a great
necklace of beads, w hich was probably a badge of his
ch ieftian sh ip , and th e h air of all was c u t sh o rt. I
have a photograph of the chiefs. T h eir faces are
M ongolian in cast, and several of th e m en looked
m uch like Japanese. All show great stre n g th of
ch aracter, and I doubt if a stro n g er and b etter looking
body of ru le rs could be found anyw here. T hey are
of A thapascan stock, and they form a p a rt of th a t
g reat fam ily of In d ian s w hich is scattered th ro u g h ­
out N o rth ern C anada, ex ten d in g on into C entral A las­
ka. T h ey are about the sam e as th e N avajos, and
some other In d ian s of o u r S outhw estern states.
T h e E skim o in h ab it the region along th e coast of the
A rctic ocean and B ering sea, tak in g in the deltas of th e
Y u k o n, th e K uskokw im and o th er rivers, and e x te n d ­
in g dow n into th e A laskan peninsula. T h e In d ian s are
found here and th ere on th e m ainland and especially
in th e g reat plateau of th e Y u k o n . T h ere are some in
th e A leutian Islands and about P rin ce W illiam sou n d ,
and th ere are a g reat m any along th e coast and on th e
islands of S outheastern A laska.
T h e A laskan In d ian s are of a half-dozen different
stocks. T h e A thapascans num ber ju s t about four
th o u san d . T h ey are divided into tw elve tribes, and
m ay be seen all along th e Y ukon and T an a n a rivers.
T h e A leu ts are closely allied to th e E skim os. T h ey
num ber perhaps fifteen h u n d red . T h ey live in th e
long island chain w hich ex ten d s from S o u th w estern
A laska alm ost to Asia. T h ey are fishers and h u n te rs.
T h ey have some a rtistic ability, and the finely woven
baskets w hich come from A laska are m ade by th eir
w om en. T h e T h lin g it is an In d ian fam ily th a t is
found scattered thro u g h S outh eastern A laska. I t nu m ­
bers four or five thou san d , divided am ong a dozen or
m ore tribes, in clu d in g the A u k , th e C hilkat, th e K ake,
th e S itka, S tikine, T ongas, Y a k u ta t aud o th ers. T h e
K lu k w an s are T h lin g its and so are the H u n as. T hese
people are sem i-civilized, and nearly every tribe has
its own church aud school. A n d then th e re are the
H aidas, n u m bering five or six h u n d red , and th e Tsim -
seans, who w ere b ro u g h t from C anada by F a th e r D u n ­
can. Both of the la tte r tribes live on the islands of
S ou th eastern A laska.
On my w ay dow n the Y ukon I saw m any of th e
A thapascans. T hey have cam ps near the w hite se t­
tlem ents, and one sees th e ir salm on w heels along th e
b an k s of th e rivers, w ith th e fish d ry in g racks nearby.
T h e In d ian s use fish w heels to catch the w in ter su p ­
ply of salm on for them selves and th eir dogs. T h e
wheels are so made th a t they are tu rn e d by th e c u r­
re n t. T hey have g reat nets attached to them , into
w hich th e fish swim and are carried u p into th e air
and dropped into a box, w hile the In d ian s sit on th e
bank and sm oke at th eir leisure. E very few hours
th e fish are taken out of the boxes. T h ey are cleaned
by the women and h u n g on th e racks in th e sun to
d ry . T h ey are then taken home and laid aw ay in the
cache, or high shed upon poles th a t stan d s beside each
In d ian hom e. T h is is to keep them aw ay from th e
dogs and wild anim als. T h e cache is reached by a
ladder and the fish are b ro u g h t down as needed.
(C o n tin u ed n e x t issu e)
T h e Chem aw a A m erican one vear 25 cents