Tundra times., 1963-08-19
Friend of inc Esfinnr
 Otto William Geist Dies In Germany After Illness

1SStiollo III tiiC "ol lo N1uIll ol llilo collection came from St. Lawrence Island where Otto directed exca- vations for some nine years. During this time, Otto GeiSt became inti- mately interested in the Eskimo life He lived with the people, ate with them and hunted with them He learned to like native foods.
 During the first few days at Point Hope, Otto asked casually, When am I going to have some native food?" l had taken it as a joke but then he repeated the same question couple more times. At his last query I said, You mean you want some muktuk and saal oil and things?" Why yes. Did you think I've been joking all this time?" he asked
 Before lunch time one day, I told Frances that we would like some muktuk and seal oil and whale meat for lunch. She had | lllc looh oii llSl 1dSS tlldt Sdlu, Now, I've heard everything" How ever, she served our requests and Otto and I began to eat. As we pro- gressed 1 could see Frances and other people present take apprehen- sive glances at Otto. Soon they were interested and began to smile and said the equivalent in Eskimo of, Well I'll be darned."
 After the initial meal, Otto ate with the rest of us when we had oogruk meat, puniqtuk (dried seal meat in seal oiD, qorq, muktuk. Muktuk was his favorite Frances and her helpers immensely enjoyed serving native food to Otto and the meals became light-hearted and happy occasions.
 Yes, Otto William Geist was a humanist. In being so, he gained complete respect of the natives and he, in turn, respected them. The result was an unreserved good fel- l loW Slll D Ellllt, lOO, IlS lldu hStIl H. terest in their problems.
 Otto was vastly interested spec l tator during a meeting of the Point 1 Hopers with high officials of the Atomic Energy Commission in July. 1861, regarding the then proposed Project Chariot. The meeting was intense during which the villagers asked highly penetrating questions. An advance notice had informed the village that the duration of the meeting would be about an hour and a half. The meeting lasted four and half hours. During the pro- ceedings, an old man said, q do not matter much. I'm an old man now and will not live too long, but I'm concerned about the children of Tiqiqahq who will live in the future" A woman asked, What would happen to our babies and would it affect our husbands?"
 After the meeting was finally over, Otto, visibly moved by the intensity of it, said, "Who said the Eskimos do not stand up for their rights?"
 Otto William Geist was a real friend of the natives. He lived with them and he enjoyed being with them. The natives of Point Hope greatly impressed him with their obvious connections with antiquity - the ancient traditions they still retain to this day.
 One day We walked east a mile of the village to the great ruins of an old settlement site, the 1piutak, where some 800 ruins of sod igloos have been counted. The site is To- cated up the incline of land from the beaches of large lagoon and a small one that is toward the vil- lage of Point Hope.
 Otto projected his imagination into the past, There must have been great activity in this old vil- lage; men hunting, women cutting meat, people everywhere Can you imagine children playing around syaa<1