The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-08-11
The Eskimo Tells the World
Why lie Asks to be Left Alone

"why are you trying to educate the Eskimosr
Why don't you let them alone? They were happy
and were able to exist before you began to change
their mode of life"
These are the questions that are asked and an
swered In The Eskimo, a monthly magazine pub
lished at Nome, Alaska, in the interests of Eskimos
of the northwest district Of Alaska. Walter G.
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 are
really sincere enough to 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 a peculiar insight into the frame
of mind of the ancient Eskimo, who; they assert,
was an 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 on taking the position,
indefensible in this day and generation, that educa-
ton is a bad thing for a people. The claim of our
service is that the Eskimo by reason Of his inher-
et 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 more fit TO survive, but that he will
be a vital factor in the development of northern
Alaska.
1.-The Eskimo is not dependent. On the contrary,
he is, even in the present condition, a real and vital
factor in the wealth Of the country. He has never
received a ration from the government; he can sup
port himself, not always according to our stand
ards, it is true, but 1t is better for him to eat strict
ly native food than for him to learn to expect the
government to support him. The wall SO often
heard from ignorant but presumably charitable
people, why don't you give the poor people some
foodr If needed would make paupers of a self-sup-
porting and noble race. We are proud of the fact
that we have not fed the Eskimo. We are proud
of him as a man because he feeds himself.
zone reason why primitive races have so often
been pushed to the wall by the white race has
been that the white race has coveted and needed
the land. AS far as we can see, for years to come
the white man will not make any attempt to push
the Eskimo off his part Of the map. While there
viii undoubtedly be developments. in mining, yet
for a 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 a large population, we believe that, with what
development the Eskimo has already received and
the additional development that even 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 Eskt-
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
an apprentice In four years becomes the trained