The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-09-01

why are you trying to educate the Eskimos2
Why don't you let them alone? They happy
and were able to exist before you began to change
their mode of life
These are the questions that asked and an
swered in The Eskimo, a monthly magazine pub
lished at Nome Alaska, in the interests Of EskmOs
Of the northwest district of Alaska. Walter c.
Shields, superintendent of the work Of the bureau
Of education, department of the Interior In north
western Alaska, who writes the leading article In
this new magazine of the North says:
1.-THE people who ask these questions, if they
really sincere enough warrant any consideration
can be divided into two classes. First, those who
display their scientific knowledge by quoting the
law of the survival Of the fttest, with the assump
ton that the Eskimo is not fit to survive. The
second class claim peculiar insight into the frame
Of mind of the ancient Eskimo, who, they assert,
especially contented individual, and further
more they insist that the Eskimo Of today is not
cOntented.
Eskimo Fit and Able.
This set of critics insists taking the position,
indefensibe in this day and generation that educa
ton is a bad thing for people. The claim of our
service is that the Eskimo by reason of his inner
ent qualities and because Of his geographical posi-
ton is fit and able to survive and we claim that by
our system of education for him we are making
him not only fit to survive, but that he will
be vital factor in the development of northern
Alaska.
"The Eskimo is not dependent On the contrary.
he is, even in the present condition, real and vital
factor in the wealth of the country. He has never
received ration from the government he can sup
port himself, not always according to stand
ards it Is true but it is better for him to strict
ly native food than for him to learn to expect the
government to support him. The wall often
heard from ignorant but presumably charitable
people, why don't you give the poor people some
food? IL needed would make paupers Of q sef-sup-
porting and noble race. We proud Of the fact
that have not fed the Eskimo We are proud
Of him man because he feeds himself.
zone reason why primitive races have often
been pushed to the wall by the white race has
been that the white has coveted and needed
the land. AS far rs see, for years to come
the white will not make any attempt to push
the Eskimo off his part of the map. While there
will undoubtedly be developments in mining, yet
for long time to come the Eskimo will have
plenty of room in northern Alaska. Therefore,
even if this northern part of Alaska, through some
unexpected development, should become desirable
for large population, we believe that, with what
development the Eskimo has already received and
the additional development that five years
more of undisturbed possession of his northern
businesses will give him, he will be well fitted to
meet advanced economic conditions.
1.-THE KEYNOTE of our school system for the ESlsi
mo is its direct relation to the village life. Thus
the school republic becomes the village council.
the school garden soon becomes the village garden,
the cooking class becomes the bread-baking class
for the village the cleanup of the school grounds
becomes the village cleanup, the bench work for
the boys class becomes the boat and sled building
center for the village. And, most striking of all,
the schoolboy who Is sent to the reindeer herd as
apprentice in four years becomes the trained