The Cordova daily times., 1918-02-02

ey are launched ups de dcAyn.
 fish, donning our nugget chains and fura, hieing ourselves away to Seattle and New York too often telling our friends around the banquet board what a miserable creature the Alaskan Na- tive is, and that he is merely in the way of the wheels of progress.
 Let us not forget that he taught Us many things we needed to know when we were in country we did not un- deTstand. Shall we not in turn teach him how to live under the new con ditiOns that we have created for him, and which he does not understand?
 An, yes, no fear t.,at humanitarian America will not adequately provide for the care and education of the Ma tiyes of Alaska when she fully realizes our debt of obligation and duty to them.
 VI 'S' VI t'A 7 CSt4 o NOAlEo GOD ilttE' q propriated small and very inadequate sums of money for the purpose of es- tablishing schools for the Natives of Alaska, administered by the secretary of the interior through the bureau of education. More than seventy schools have been established, manned by corps of nearly one hundred teachers, several physicians, and nurses, five superintendents with an enrolment of thirty-five hundred Natives.
 Land, fishing and reindeer grazing reserves have been established by executive order Much has been ac- compIished Indeed it is difficult to- understand how as mucn could be done with an annual appropriation averaging not to exceed $2OO,0OO, but while much has been done, so much yet remains to be done, for lack of adequate funds to increase the facili- ties for industrial training the es- tablishing of hospitals all of which is a matter of common knowledge to Alaskans.
 The introduction of the reindeer in dustry among the Natives of Alaska has not only proved a wonderful sue cess, but boon to thousands of them who make their homes in those sec tions to which the reindeer industry is adapted, but there is yet a large number of Natives in the southeastern district and in the interior who do not receive this benefit
 For these, cooperative stores are being established where it is possible, boat building is being taught and as rapidly as possible it is the purpose of the bureau of education to train the Natives along industrial lines suited to the country in which they live. Here is the objection 70 sending Alas ka Native children to the schools in the States. They are usually returned to Alaska after getting their train ing in surroundings foreign to their native home and they fit like square peg in a round hole.
 Education is of little value to any one If there is no place for him after he has received 1t. Many an Alaskan is disgusted with the term education as applied to the Natives, having in mind a scholastic education. The term education, as applied to the Ma tive by the bureau of education, means the training of both his mind and hands and establishing them upon a higher moral foundation, fitting him to lead civilized life and giving him an opportunity for his highest develop ment, and to earn his own living.
 It seems hardly necessary to discuss the question of the Natives suscepti- bility to learn, yet everywhere the writer goes he is asked the question, Gan they learn anything--
 All he needs Is the opportunity. If our fathers had had no written forms of communication in their blood for generations we could not take to let ters as readily as we do, yet the N;- , tive can learn the alphabet in short time, and in a few months form the