Barrow Eskimos Show The Way
Toward Economic Independence
After Shutdown Oil Exploration
By LOUIS B. HUBER
BARROW, Alasica — Disaster
seemed to portend for this Eskimo
community, northernmost settle
ment of the continent, about a
year ago when the United States
Navy terminated nine years of
exploration in its Petroleum Re
serve No. 4 near here.
Happily the result has been
quite different, thanks to an un
usual display of native enter
prise—which may be a guide to
similar achievement elsewhere in
Alaska.
Five productive oil wells and
natural g^s in commercial quan
tity were discovered by the Navy
in the 37,000-square-mile reserve,
but the wells were capped and
the work was halted nonetheless.
The $60,000,000 spent in this
exploration had given jobs to
hundreds of Eskimos — as tractor
drivers, mechanics and laborers.
From a life of whale and seal
hunting they had been suddenly
propelled into the white man’s
workaday world.
It was the quickest change ever
made, perhaps, from an essential
ly Stone Age existence into mod
ern civilization.
Barrow Eskimos welcomed it,
however, and so did many other
Eskimos who came here from sur
rounding areas, fhe population
shot up from about 400 in 1944,
when the work began, to 951 for
the 1950 census.
Barrow quickly changed from a
village composed mainly of rude
huts into one of modern frame
< buildings, specially insulated
against winter’s cold and equip
ped with all the conveniences
found in the average Stateside
home.
Then suddenly the economic
basis for this new standard of
living — employment —was taken
away.
What happens in such cases?
Can you step back from mod
ern civilization into the Stone
Age?
Best opinions a year ago were
that you can not. Gloom and
doom radiated from every dis
cussion of the Barrow Eskimos’
plight.
“We’l try to find jobs for you
in some other part of Alaska,”
was the best that officials of the
Alaska Native Service, an Inter
ior Department agency, could say.
In this solution lay a large risk:
whenever Alaska natives are a
minority in a center of white pop
ulation, many of them fall easy
prey to the white man’s evil of
liquor.
Only one hope was held out:
Wien Alaska Airlines #of Fair
banks wanted to make Barrow a
tourist attraction, bringing DC-3
planeloads of vacationers to the
village five days a week.
Each group of visitors would
stay two or three days and return.
The attraction, mainly, would be
the Eskimos themselves, but also
the surrounding Arctic. The
scheme would bring a steady flow
of money into the community.
Only trouble was: Barrow had
no hotel.
This was where the Eskimos
took action. Out of savings still
left from their Navy oil-explora
tion employment, they subscribed
$35,000 for a two-story hotel, cen
trally situated, with windows
looking out on the Arctic Ocean.
■ When it was finished, they rais
ed more money for building a
clean, modern restaurant; then
still more money for a motion-pic
ture theater.
Needless to say, the enterprise
has paid Barrow well.- Although
the new source of income has not
nearly equalled that of Navy-em
ployment days, it has kept the
community intact.
The Eskimos have turned back
to former activities of whale, seal,
walrus and oogruk hunting—but
these have provided entertain
ment for tourists as well as they
have supplemented empty Eskimo
larders.
Too, the travelers can boast of
having eaten muktuk (beluga
whale flippers) or whale steak—
if the catch happens to be large
enough while they’re at Barrow.
With the Alaska tourist indus
try growing every year, Barrow
residents look to the future with
confidence.
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■ V
Magazine Reports
Alaska Airlines’
Operation to End
SEATTLE, tin—Pacific North
ern Airline’s president Art Wood
ley has described as “inconceiv
able” and “incredible” an aviation
magazine’s report that its right to
operate to Alaska is going to be
suspended.
In a statement released here,
Woodley commented on the story
in the American Aviation Daily,
Washington D.C., that the Civil
Aeronautics Board has decided to
eliminate Pacific Northern and
Alaska Airlines from States-Alas
ka air traffic. Such action would
leave the field to Northwest Air
lines and Pan American World
Airways.
Both the CAB counsel and its
chief examiner have recommend
ed renewal of Pacific Northern’s
service north, Woodley said.
“Pacific Northern Airlines pro
vides more air service to the terri
tory of Alaska, both within Alas
ka and between the territory and
the United States, than any other
carrier, including Pan American
and Northwest,” he continued.
“And in its overseas operation,
PNA requires less government
subsidy than any other carrier.”
U.S. Cellulose Firm Buys
$20 Million Interest in
Canada Pulp Industry
VANCOUVER, B.C. itfi—'The
signing of two 10'million dollar
checks here Wednesday heralded
the entry of Rayonier Inc. into
the Canadian pulp and paper in
dustry.
The checks gave Rayonier 80
per cent interest in the Alaska
Pine and Cellulose Co.
The U.S. cellulose firm bought
40 per cent control from both the'
Koerner interests of Vancouver
and Abitibi Power and Paper Co.
of Toronto.
Clyde B. Morgan signed the
checks and becomes chairman of
the board of directors of Alaska
Pine. He said his company has no
interest in the manufacture of
paper from wood pulp, but is a
highly specialized company “deal
ing in rayon, cellophane and plas
tics.”
He said the company moved
into B.C. because it was one of the
few areas in the free world out
side the U.S. where expansion of
chemical cellulose production can
economically take place to meet
new demands.
ASTRONOMY NOTES
By OLAF HALVERSON
In spectacular grandeaur and
beauty, Venus is displaying an
unusual appearance during this
season of the year.
The planet is at an advanta
geous position in its orbit to be
observed at this time of the year
and everyone should look for it
during the morning hours from
six to nine o’clock. It is located in
the southeastern sky and greatly
exceeds its brightness of last year.
Venus, being a planet whose
orbit lies inside that of the earth,
passed through all the phase sim
ilar to that of the moon. These
phases of full, quarter, and new
were first discovered by Galileo
in 1610 with his telescope.
Saturn, which is close to Venus
at this time, is distinguished by
its rings. It is a larger planet but
distance makes it appear smaller.
One can notice the changing posi
tions of these two planets each
day- v .. ... .
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