Transfer of Alaska Bureau of Education Activities to
Indian Bureau Is of Questionable Gain
“The Int erior Department Ap
propriation Bill as passed by the
House last week provides for the
transfer of the educational and
health activities for the Natives
of Alaska from the Office of Ed
ucation to the Indian Bureau.
This will no doubt greatly in
crease t he responsibilities of the
Indian Bureau and should result
in giving to the Natives of Alas
ka the benefits of the extensive
Indian Service organization in
the matter of health improve
ment. educational advancement
and social welfare.”—Chemawa
American.
Benefits Doubtful
The leaders of the Alaska Na
tive Brotherhood are looking as
kance at the proposed change in
administration of the education
al affairs of the Alaska Natives.
In the few years of efforts in
Alaska, the Bureau of Education
has accomplished more general
good among these people with
less question as to misuse of au
thority or abuse of funds at its
disposal than the office of the
Indian Bureau in the states.
P oponents of the transfer have
offered no tangible reason for
the transfer other than “improv
ing the service.”
The functioning of the Bureau
of Education has at times been
slow due to the fact that it has
had considerable trouble in se
curing sufficient funds to take
care of its work. It has been re
tarded in its efforts at times by
having men at its head who did
not understand the Alaska Na
tives and who tried to establish
m Alaska, methods employed by
the Indian Bureau. But as it did
its work, the Office cf Education
planned well and worked hon
estly and sincerely to accomplish
the most good. The main effort
of the Bureau of Education is
education and it is not limited
m its efforts to educating the
Indians of Alaska. That is but a
very small part of its work in the
United States. It is not primari
ly interested in building itself
into a huge machine—political
ly minded, at the expense of
those it works to benefit.
The Indian Bureau has func
tioned for a century among the
Indians of the states and its re
gime may well be said to have
been “A Century of Dishonor.”
It has committed every crime in
the calendar from petty lar
ceny to murder. Its punishment
for criminals within its service
has been “transfer” with a pro
motion up or “transfer” down.
Very seldom is an incompetent
representative of that depart
ment “fired” and only on the
rarest of occasions has a repre
sentative of that service been
brought into court for malfe us
ance in office. Not that it has
net had opportunity to do sc—
No. It has not had the desire.
There is nothing that the In
dian Bureau can bring to the Na
tives of Alaska that is not beuig
accomplished by a much more
efficient bureau. In the matter
of health facilities, the Bureau
of Education is fast securing
proper facilities tc handle the
situation as it should be—under
ttandingly; as to educational ad
vancement, the plan of the Bu
reau of Education is far superi
or to that of the Indian Depart
ment as evidenced in the great.
or number of children entering
end graduating at the various
high schools. As to the social ad
vancement of these people, the
Bureau of Education has long
since learned that self-help
means more to these people
than any paternalistic system
that might be advanced by the
Indian Bureau. And its efforts at
co-operating with the Alaska
Native Brotherhood and Alaska
Native Sisterhood along this
line with attendant results is in
dicative of right policies pursued.
The Indian Bureau will have
to improve several hundred per
cent in its efficiency to equal the
evident results of the efforts of
the Bureau of Education. It is
therefore poor policy to switch
the work of the Bureau of Ed
ucation, and we regret exceed
ingly this action of Congress
which leaves the educational
welfare of the Alaska native in
the hands of the Indian Bureau,
which is today under fire of a
Senatorial investigation.
-x
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