The CHEMAWA AMERICAN
Page 2
CHEMAWAf^AMERICAN
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Published Weekly at the U. S. Indian School, Chemawa
Oregon. Address all communications to
Ruthyn Turney, Manager
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WASHINGTON AUTHORITIES DO NOT FAVOR
ENROLLMENT OF ALASKANS
(Continued from page 1)
Last year the suggestion was made to the Department
that the facilities at Chemawa might be utilized in
cooperation with the Bureau of Education, for the
training of specially selected Alaskan students of high
school grade for teachers and leaders among their own
people. The suggestion appealed to Dr. Wilbur, Sec
retary of the Interior, as one worthy of serious consid
eration and he sent Dr. Cooper, the Commissioner of
Education, to Chemawa last summer to look the plant
and equipment over and to confer with the Superin
tendent in regard to the matter. Since Dr. Cooper did
not find teacher training courses at Chemawa of Junior
college grade he did not think it wise to undertake
the experiment under present conditions; so, for the
present at least, the matter has been dropped.
In order that our Alaskan students, both present
and past, may understand the situation, we are pub
lishing the following extract from the recent hearings
on the Indian Appropriation Bill, for their informa
tion:
ATTENDANCE OF ALASKAN CHILDREN AT CHEMAWA SCHOOL
{From Hearings before the Subcommittee of the House
Committeee on Appr opriations—Interior Depart
ment Appropriation Bill for 193/.)
Mr. Cramton: As to the policy of the bureau with reference
to bringing children from Alaska, of course, the language is
that on the individual order of the Secretary they may be
brought there. In the Chemawa American recently there was
an item with reference to the visit of Dr. W. J. Cooper, United
States Commissioner of Education, to Chemawa, and it stated
that his mission was to look over the plant and equipment and
to confer with Superintendent Lipps with regard to utilizing
Chemawa as a vocational training school for carefully selected
students who have completed courses in the schools of Alaska.
Of course, the purpose of the committee in leaving this pro
viso in and giving authority to the Secretary was not to open
the way for him to have advantage there but only to take care
of an occasional emergency. It was not intented to open the
way for overruling the policy which had been established, but
to let him take care of an emergency case.
Mr. Rhoads: I have had some correspondence and conver
sations with Doctor Cooper and I learned that what he needed
was higher grades and a different type of Education than we
could furnish at the present time, and by mutual agreement
we allowed the matter to drop for the present.
Mr. French: May I ask about what the enrollment is from
Alaska now?
Mr. Dodd:
The present enrollment of Alaskan children is
69.
Mr. French: Of that number how many have been admitted
as a result of this provision that we are carryingin the law and
how many are left overs or the carry overs from the prior pro
gram.
Mr. Dodd: I can not give exact information as to the num
ber who have come in under the special change in the law.
That is, with reference to the number that are in school now.
Since the provision was made in the fiscal year 1925, approval
had been granted by tne department for the enrollment of 55
Alaskan children in the Salem school.
Mr. French: Does that represent about the demand of those
who meet the condition indicated? Would you say this covers
about the period of four years?
Mr. Dodd: Yes, sir.
Mr. French: It would represent about 15 a year. Do you
think there ought to be more who want to go to Chemawa to
meet the conditions indicated by Doctor Cooper of the Bureau
of Education as being Alaskan Indians, for whom facilities can
not be provided in Alaska?
Mr. Peairs: Doctor Cooper’s idea, it is said, is they should
take only those students who want to train for leadership or
for teaching; along some line, not necessarily academic, but
industrial and academic both; and they would not take them
until they had finished the schools in Alaska. Therefore, Doc
tor Cooper said that he would not be interested at all unless
they should add two years of junior college work.
Mr. French: Of course, if we are giving the Alaskan work
that is comparable to the work that is offered in Chemawa
there would be no particular reason, it would seem, for bring
ing them down to Chemawa. But i« it not true that we carry
on in Chemawa beyond anything that we have already provi
ded for in /Alaska?
Mr. Peairs: Yes, sir; that is true. There is a little of senior
high school work in Alaska, but it is largely academic, and the
full senior high school at the Salem School would offer some
vocational courses, which would be available for that class of
students from Alaska. The idea would be to bring some in
who wanted to prepare to teach along vocational lines, as well
as along other lines, so they naturally would bring in some
senior high-school studentsand carry them through.
Mr. French: Just one or two more questions. First, how
many would probably now ask for attendance in Chemawa
from Alaska on the basis of the senior high school?
Mr. Peairs: Superintendent Lipps, of the Salem School,
has conferred with Doctor Cooper, commissioner of education*
concerning future enrollment of Alaskans in the Salem School’
and Doctor Cooper has suggested that the school might well
carry an average of 50 Alaskan students and that 15 or 20
might be sent each year from Alaska. These would be select
ed in order to take senior high school work and instruction in
vocational courses which would qualify them for teaching.
Mr. Cramton: There are 55 there. Have you the numbers
for each year?
Mr. Dodd: I have not.
Mr. Cramton: Is not the number increasing materially? It
is my recollection when we went into this before that there
were only a few admitted. I am surprised to find that there
are 55.
Mr. Dodd: This 55 covers the four years.
Mr. Cramton: But it is my recollection that in the first
year or two years there were not really any. I wish you would
put it in by years.
Mr. Dodd: I will check it up and furnish the information
by years.
Mr. Cramton: I do not think we contemplated as large a
number as that to come in. It was only the very exceptional
cases.