The Chemawa American, February 14, 1917, Page 5, Image 5

PAGE 4
THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
OUR STRAN G E PEO PLE TO TH E NORTH
By Frank G. Carpenter
or window and the smoke passed out through a hole
in the roof. Now, the most of them are frame, with
(Continued from last issue)
windows and chimneys. Some of them are ceiled,
I have been interested in the homes of the Athapas­ and some are papered and painted. They have shin­
cans. They live in substantial log cabins, and many gled roofs and are comfortable homes. The Indians
of their houses have frame doors and glass windows. have become good carpenters. They have modern
Some of these Indians are now planting gardens, and tools, and some of their tow’ns have hardware stores
not a few use cookstoves and other furniture like that and sawmills.
of the whites. The most of them have become Chris­
The new’ buildings are planned with regard to sani­
tians, although they retain many of their old supersti­ tary conditions. Some of the towns have plank side­
tions and customs. The government has established walks, and in one or two there are electric lights. In
public schools in all of the large villages, and the Klukwan the Indians have piped the water from the
younger generation is learning to speak English.
mountains and established a municipal water system.
The Indians admire the whites and try to imitate The same is true to some extent in Methlakahtla,
them. They are now dressing much the same, ex­ where the water is brought from a lake in the moun­
cept that they delight in bright colors. During my tains.
trip we have had a number of Indian men and women
The Metlakahtla Indians I have already described.
with us on the tourist steamer. The Indians watch The proper name for them is Tsimseans. They were
the whites and try to do as they do. The other day a converted from savages to civilization by Father Dun­
young Indian woman sat down at the table opposite can and their village on Annette Island has cottage
two traveling salesmen from Seattle. As the meal homes that would be considered comfortable in almost
went on they noticed that the girl’s orders were the any town of the States. Metlakahtla has plank side-
same as their own. She was pretending to study the walks and its streets are laid out in regular order.
menu, but they concluded that she could not read and Each house has its garden. There is a large general
that this was her first experience with the white man’s store, a sawmill and a fish-canning factory. The people
victuals. Thereupon, one of them ordered for dessert have the largest church in Alaska and also a town hall
a slice of custard pie and winked at his friend to do and library. Many of them speak English. The
the same. The girl in her turn gave a similar order. government school building, recently erected, is a
When the pie came one of the traveling men seized large tw’o-story building, fitted with all of the mod­
the catsup bottle and sprinkled a liberal allowance of ern school appliances. The natives dress just like the
hot tomato sauce over his pie. His friend followed whites, and, were it not for their complexion and fea­
suit and then shoved the catsup across the table to the tures, you would hardly know’ they were Indians.
Outside Annette Island the work of civilization
copper-skinned girl. She did the same, only more so. among
the Indians has been promoted by the mission­
The men then delayed their eating to watch the agony aries and school teachers. The missionaries came
of the Indian. The fair young woman, however, he­ first. They had their schools, industrial and other­
roically finished her pie without winking, and, as far wise, and they converted the Indians to Christianity.
After the missionaries came the bureau of education.
as anyone could see, the joke was on them.
It has taken charge of the natives of Alaska. It be­
During my travels in Southeastern Alaska I saw gan
with the establishment of schools in all of the
many of the Thlingits. These Indians are found on villages, and it has added many kinds of uplifting ac­
the coast and in the islands of the panhandle, and tivities. The teachers are now instructing the adult
their settlement extends as far north as Prince William Indians in sanitation and civil government. They
sound. They are the Indians most known to the are inducing them to establish stores, and to engage
in all possible self-sustaining industries.
tourists, and their totem poles or tribal emblems and
So far the most remarkable progress has been
coats-of-arms are still to be seen in many of the vil­ among the Haidas, a tribe of five or six hundred In­
lages, although they are gradually disappearing with dians on Prince of Wales Island. The government
the march of civilization The Thlingit villages are has given them a reservation, and they have a town
always built near the shore. Nine-tenths of their called Hydaburg, which is perhaps the most advanced
Indian town in the w’orld. The natives have organ­
support comes from fishing, and they like to live right ized a co-operative trading company and are paying
on the beach. Nearly every family has its boats, and big dividends to their stock holders. With only
some own gasoline launches. The houses are usually $11,000 invested within the past three years they have
scattered through-out the town, without regard to any paid dividends of $8000. East year the directors de­
fixed plan. It is only lately that any of them have clared a dividend of 50 per cent, and the company
has so increased its stock that it will undertake a fish­
had gardens about them. In the past the buildings canning and saw’-milling business.
were made of rude slabs and bark thrown together
over pole rafters. None of the houses had a chimney
(C o n tin u ed n e x t issu e)