Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-24
ESKIMO BEATU.S
TO PROHIBITION.
SAYS MISSIONARY
Liquor Laws Effective in Arc.
tic Circle Long Ago,
Declares.

Chicago.-(Correspondence of The
Associated Press Completing a
6.000-miie journey from Point Hope,
Alaska, which consumed three months
and six days, two months and eight
days of which were spent in ''mushing"
1000 miles behind a dog sled through
the snow, the Rev. William A. Thomas,
Episcopal missionary at Point Hope,
800 miles north of the Arctic circle.
brings a remarkable story of a self
governing Eskimo community which has
been successfully carried on at Point
Hope for the last six years.
Under the tutelage of the mission
aries equal suffrage has been estab-
lished among the Tigeres. who annually
in town meeting elect from among
themselves the omalik. or council Of
leading men, who in turn enact the To-
cal laws n see to their enforcement
among the thousand natives who in
habit the region. This democracy of
he frozen north even has its own pro-
hibition law, which was adopted three
years before the prohibition amend
ment was adopted in, the United States.
says the Rev. Mr.. Thomas.
This unique venture in home rule
was i%naugurated six years ago. after
the breakdown of the a%utocratic rule
of a tribal chief, and following the in
struction which has been given the
younger generation Of Eskimos through
81 years at the Episcopal school at
Point Hope. the Rev. Mr.. Thomas re-
ports.
Originally the omalik was composed
" e~,r, H. D. "
ThomaA. but it was found later that
five was a better number. From the
beginning of the experiment the right
of suffrage was given to men and WON
en- alike, in the selection of the coun-
Gil. Christmas was fixed as the day
of the election because on that day all
of the tribesmen come into the settle
ment for feasting and merrymaking.
and We are able thereby to get the
fullest expression of the sentiment of
the people. The names are written on
a blackboard. and the five polling the
greatest number of votes are declared
elected. while that one of the five who
receives the greatest number becomes
the chief councilman"
The Rev. Mr.. Thomas points out that
the Eskimos are a ~singularly orderly
and law-abiding people so that the
work of the omalik is largely confined
to the enactment of routine municipal
regulations. He says: There are no
police and no courts. The missionary
gives some quaint illustrations of the
manne in which Eskimo self govern
ment works. For example. the oma-
lik has a regulation against gossip.
Any person. male or female. found
guilty of gossiping is called before the
entire community and publicly rebuked
by the chief omalik. All forms of ly-
ing are frowned upon. but particularly
among the young. A young man caught
lying to his parents is sentenced to
carry a certain amount of water for
the public use; or. as an alternative.
to give a days time to assisting some
aged couple in cleaning up their igloo
or hut. 4 lad who stole some tobacco
was sentenced to clean out his victim S
DOLLHOUSE. Another native who was
guilty of a trifling theft was sentenced
TO accompany one of the officials on a
jaunt of 40 miles to Point Barrow.
walking all the way behind a dog sled.
He was furnished his meals on the
journey and, of course, had his rest
periods. but the penalty lay in being
compelled to give his services during
the trip in the management of the
dog team