The Wrangell sentinel., 1936-11-27

h. Ia.
 What is the Wheeler-Howard Act2
 My answer is that the Wheeler Howard Act seeks to do for the h. dian what the REC does for the white man.
 Under REC business corporations, after exhausting their credit. with banks fer one reason or another. may go 10 the REC and obtain a loan on an approved project. This is equally true of Indian communi- ties. with this diIferenee-du to reasons that are obvious an Indian community cannot obtain capital or loans from private banks of the RFC even if the project was sound, be- can the bank must consider that there is a possibility of failure and of course foreclosure of security. Therefore the banks say out Of res pect for public opinion they cannot finance the loan.
 But the government. through the Wheeler-Howard Act says that since the Indians have all of the assets and equipment for carrying on sue cessful business except the capital, instead of putting him on destitu- ton. the government will act as banker. providing the Indian com munity will organize a corporation under the Act. In its simplest terms the question the Indian community must answer Is this. Do you wish to organize a corporation and thus put yourself in a position to obtain capital for whatever business that the country affords.
 Unfortunately, for the Indian thinker in Alaska, the original How ard-Wheeler Act which applied only to |. s. Indians made the reserva- ton the unit of organzation. When the Wheeler-Howard Act was eX- tended to Alaska the basis was changed so that reservations are not required, and in discussing the Act the word need not be mention
 There is in the Act, however, ref erence to reservations provided the people who comprise the commun- ity will first ask for the reserva- tion.
 I can see two conditions under which a reservation might be justi- fled, first in order to control the ey- CT increasing liquor evil I, for one would be willing to go on an old style reservation if that were the only way to prevent the wholesale destruction of the Indian people by drink. The second use of reserya- tions would be to protect natural resources essential to the successful operation for business. For example. the Annette Island Reserve includes the fisheries about that island with out which the profit of the cannery there might be jeopardized. Tn other words. the reserve guarantees the pack.
 It looks as if our battle against fish traps was losing battle and in our struggle for existence that we must fight privilege with privil- ege. Those who do not like reser- yations must remember that every fish trap is a reservation, and so the cannery corporation should not object if the Indian also demands a reservation as around Annette Is- land to protect his investment.
 Perhaps the simplest project that could be organized under the Wheel er-Howard Act, and one in which the Red Herring" of reservation can be omitted is a corporation to finance new seine boats, trollers and to refinance older boats. In view oi the trap situation the Indian has found out that by fishing in the ocean he can beat the traps to the catch This. however, means large and high powered boats and good nets. There is no reason why sucI financing cannot be done under th' Howard Act. If done under the Act I would advise that tht boats be built locally. This would, O course. mean boat shops and mach inc shops. also increased business for diesel engine agents and many othel activities.
 Tn view of the action of the ANT convention, the organization mes now proceed unit by unit apart iron