HOPE FOR POINT HOPE Let me read to you, Mr. Chairman, a short letter which the Attorney General received from another Alaska community. This from the Eskimo village of Point Hope: "On behalf of the village council and the people of Point Hope, Alaska, I extend an invitation for a Peace Corps worker to come to Point Hope. We are Eskimo people with a population of 225. We feel that a Peace Corps worker living among us could help us with ideas for economic development and better use of resources we have available. We do not have television and radio reception is not always good. We think we would benefit from close contact with a Peace Corps worker." It would seem to me, Mr. Chairman, that Point Hope is an example of another place where Service Corps workers would be most helpful. JUNEAU INDIAN VILLAGE As a last example in the State of Alaska where service corps workers could assist local communities to help themselves, let me speak of the Juneau Indian Village. This village, within the city limits of the capital of our State, is not, however, legally a part of the city. The land on which the Indian village stands is owned by the Federal Government and, because of its tideland status, is not now transferarble to the State or to individual ownership. This village could profit from tourism. However, without the right of ownership the people have been unable to make the improvements necessary to raise their living standards and better their economic conditions. A bill to allow these citizens to own their land and their home has recently been enacted by the Congress and is at the White House. Upon approval, Mr. Chairman, the people of Juneau Indian Village will need assistance and encouragement. They will need help in improving their property and developing the tourist potential. CORPS WORKERS TO ALASKA These are but three examples of what the National Service Corps could do. I have sought to work closely with members of the President's Study Group as they have formulated the provisions of this program, and I am extremely pleased that present intentions now are that one of the early groups of Service Corps workers will be sent to aid Alaska natives. The bill before this subcommittee today will help Alaska. The bill, S. 1321, will make it possible for young men and women of enthusiasm and education to assist the poor and less fortunate people of Alaska. It will assist not only those in Alaska but also the less fortunate and underprivileged throughout the country. I wish to emphasize, Mr. Chairman, that I do not support this bill only because it will assist my own State. I support this bill because it is a good bill in itself— for surely it is desirable to encourage the more fortunate to help their less fortunate neighbors. [From the Congressional Record, May 2, 1963] ALASKA AND NATION HAVE NEED FOR SERVICE CORPS Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. President, I am pleased to add my name as a cosponsor to the bill introduced by Senator Harrison A. Williams to establish a National Service Corps. As the Senate knows, the concept of a National Service Corps has received intensive study for many months by the President's Study Group on National Voluntary Services. The proposal embodied in the measure introduced today is the result of this study. It has not been conceived in haste. It is a moderate and modest beginning: as presently envisioned, the Service Corps will not exceed 5,000 volunteers. These men and women will work on community projects only at the invitation of the community. They will, it is hoped, act as the nucleus for the development of a local attack upon the problems of poverty, misery, illiteracy, and adversity. It is hoped that they will stimulate and mobilize a strong yet latent desire of all citizens to improve their community. The Study Group reported to the President in January. It recommended the creation of a National Service Corps operating, as it were, as a Domestic Peace Corps. After reading that report, Mr. President, I addressed a letter to the Attorney General who acted as Chairman of the Study Group. In this letter I pointed out that it is in the American heritage of freedom to care for the well-being of his neighbor. I said the National Service Corps will remind us of that heritage. I also pointed out that Alaska offers a fertile field for the Service Corps. There is much that can be done by the Service Corps volunteers to alleviate the hardship and deprivation experienced by many of the Alaska natives who live in cold and isolation, remote from the benefits of civilization. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this letter may be included in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks. Alaska natives are of three separate racial strains-Eskimos, Indians, and Aleuts. Generally speaking, the Eskimos are to be found along the north and west coasts of the State, the Indians in the central interior and southeastern Alaska, and the Aleuts along the Aleutian Islands. The Alaska natives in southeastern Alaska and in the population centers of the State are relatively well off. The natives in the vast rural areas of the State are not. They have suffered severe and continuing economic and sociological dislocation. They are unequipped to live in our modern world and are unable to return to the completely primitive world of their fathers. They are ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished. The following figures will indicate the disparity that exists between Alaska whites and Alaska natives: The Nome office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates that from 50 to 70 percent of all Eskimos between the ages of 18 and 55 are permanently unemployed. Median income, families and unrelated individuals: Alaska white rural nonfarm___. Alaska native rural nonfarm_. (Prices are 25 to 40 percent and more above the lower 48 States.) Housing-Percentage structurally sound with plumbing: Alaska___. Alaska native, rural_. Tuberculosis death rate (per 100,000): Alaska natives__. All races, United States____. $4, 209 2, 019 Percent 57.7 13. 1 73.5 7.0 Infant mortality: 7 percent of all races, United States, deaths are infant deaths; 29 percent of all Alaska native deaths are infant deaths. (These deaths are due to colds, diarrhea, influenza-easily preventable with simple health education.) Following are specific examples of the hardship and needs of the native Alaskan : The need is clear, Mr. President, there is ample work to be done to assist the Alaska natives and to teach them how to help themselves. There are, also, Mr. President, many citizens of Alaska who have the desire and ability to be of assistance. An example to indicate the strong interest of Alaskans in such a program as this is the reecnt conference held at Fairbanks, Alaska. This conference was held to discuss means of improving the lot of the Alaska native living in remote areas of the State. Participating in the meeting were representatives of Federal, State, and local governments, churches, and private organizations interested in social work. I ask unanimous consent that the recommendations adopted by this conference be made a part of the Record at the conclusion of my remarks. A member of my staff, Mr. President, attended this conference. Upon his return he reported to me on the interest he found in the concept of a Domestic Peace Corps. I ask unanimous consent that this report prepared by the able William S. Boesch be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks. There is a deep and as yet little tapped reservoir of good will in our people. The extent of this good will was seen in the response of the people to the work of the Peace Corps in the creation of the National Service Corps. We are again calling upon the people. They will not fail. It is my earnest hope the Congress will early approve this measure. There being no objection, the letter and memorandum report were ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: Hon. ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JANUARY 21, 1963. Chairman, President's Study Group on National Voluntary Services, DEAR MR. KENNEDY: I have just finished reading the report to the President prepared by the study group under your direction. It is an excellent report, proposing a program of great importance to America. I congratulate you and every member of your committee for your fine work. The creation of a National Service Corps-operating as a domestic peace corps-would serve to focus and direct the attention of millions of Americans on the hardship and suffering which exist within our own borders. The work of the service corpsmen itself will be of high value. The example and effect of this work will be even greater. It is in the American heritage of freedom to care for the well-being of a neighbor. The National Service Corps will remind us of this heritage. I write to you now, as I have before, to emphasize both the opportunity and the need for such a Corps to work with Alaska Eskimos, Aleuts, and Indians. I urge as strongly as I am able that such work be among the very first undertaken by the Service Corps. In the past I have pointed out the needs of these native Americans: basic education in literacy, vocational training, community development, instruction in sanitation and basic health needs. Let me point out the opportunities: These citizens are anxious to help themselves. They need someone to show them how. They know in their evolving world they need to read and write but who in their village can teach them? They could develop self-help housing programs but they need someone to show them it can be done. The death rate among native infants is three times higher for native Alaskans than it is for Americans as a whole. These deaths are caused by common infections which common health care could control. These citizens want to maintain basic health care but they don't know how. Alaska is a fertile field for the Service Corps. The work it starts will be taken up by the native Alaskans themselves. The work it starts will be assisted, I am sure, by Alaskans in all walks of life the churches, the schools, the university, the State government, stand ready to help. Projects undertaken in Alaska could serve as examples for future work undertaken for other Indian groups in other parts of the country. For my part, if enabling legislation is needed, I stand ready to be of assistance in the Senate in every way possible. Please let me know also how I can assist in working out a Service Corps pilot program for native Alaskans. Sincerely yours, E. L. BARTLETT. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COORDINATED PLAN OF ACTION (Adopted February 21, 1963, at Fairbanks, Alaska, by development conference, sponsored by Churches' Socio-Economic Advisory Committee and Bureau of Indian Affairs) This meeting was called in recognition of the depressed economic condition of the communities in the Yukon and Tanana River basins, and the desire of those in attendance to help local people toward self-improvement. This statement is to recommend ways to accomplish that purpose. We recommend The creation of a coordinating committee to insure that all available facilities are brought to bear on the total problem. This committee shall consist of (at least) a representative of the Churches' Socio-Economic Advisory Committee, the University of Alaska, the State government, and the Federal Government. Members of this committee should be selected today. That the committee should invite on appropriate occasions representatives of organized labor, native organizations, and other groups and organizations interested in their welfare, to meet with it. That the headquarters of the committee be in Fairbanks. That the committee, by working with the residents of the communities concerned, inform itself of local needs, problems, and goals. Emphasis shall be given to developing local initiative and meaningful communication between the committee and communities. To this end the committee will designate in each community a person through whom it will work. That the committee, by calling upon the facilities and skills of the university, churches, State, and Federal establishments will provide for effective guidance and technical help to the communities. That the committee shall designate communities for concentration of effort at particular times. The committee shall address itself immediately to Adult education geared to basic community needs. Maximum local hire with particular emphasis on State and Federal public works projects. We attach to these recommendations three proposals to amplify the above: 1. Continuing Education.-Its place in the Yukon and Tanana River basins: A. Adult or continuing education as the path by which rural Alaskans may progress toward achievement of their own goals of economic development and individual fulfillment, has been repeatedly stressed in this conference. The message of one keynote speaker, Dr. W. R. Wood, was drawn from the report "Continuing Education in Alaska" which more generally states this as a new imperative of our times: "Recognition of the essentiality for educating adults to insure security, productivity, and adaptability of a society facing changing conditions is as old as recorded history" (p. 135). B. In assigning responsibility for the initiation of adult education this report states: "It is generally agreed that the university has responsibility for developing continuing education as a field of study, for training adult educators, and for research" (p. 117). Training of leaders is the most immediate need at this stage. This is limited not merely to those who have a clearly defined "professional" responsibility. "Some training is also needed by those whose responsibility has been assumed voluntarily but whose duties in churches, or agencies is considerable" (p. 16). Furthermore, ultimate success "will be dependent upon local leaders. These must be trained and trusted with responsibility" (p. 72). C. The recommended means by which the university is to discharge this responsibility for training is through regular college credit courses for the professional educators, and short courses, seminars, extension programs, and institutes for the voluntary educators and local leaders (pp. 72, 120). D. In applying these general statements and recommendations to the Yukon and Tanana River Basins it is clear that the university must immediately secure the services of the most highly qualified "professional" available with service in areas outside Alaska similar to the region of this proposed pilot program. This person will plan and conduct programs for the training of all types of educators and leaders, guiding them in the planning and administration of specific community education programs, learning skills of group discussion, developing a sound philosophical basis for the pursuit of their work. E. The success or failure of this initial step will depend upon the person recruited. It is recommended that the university take steps to secure the services of Dr. Alexander Laidlaw, of Ottawa, Canada, in inaugurating this program for continuing education in the bush villages of Alaska. In his foreword to Laidlaw's book, "The Campus and the Community," Dr. J. R. Kidd describes him as one of the principal reasons for the success of the Antigonish movement of Nova Scotia and its spread to all corners of the underdeveloped free world: "Since he left Antigonish, Laidlaw has given the same kind of devoted service in India, to cooperative schools in many parts of the world, and latterly to the Cooperative Union of Canada." The basic approach and philosophy of the Antigonish program has been adopted by the division of northern affairs as the cornerstone of the Canadian development of northern communities and peoples. Those principles have permeated and influenced the extension services of the United States and have served as the model for the economic and village development programs of UNESCO. They are merely another statement of the "new imperative of our time," which is continuing education for life. 2. Technical assistance: A. The State's department of economic development and planning, or another representative designated by the Governor, will be responsible for securing technical help from the appropriate State agencies. B. Through their projects development officer in Fairbanks, the Bureau of Indian Affairs will be responsible for securing technical help from the appropriate Federal agencies. 3. Local hire: The matter of local hire should be assigned to a subcommittee whose task will be to confer with appropriate Federal and States agencies, organized labor, the Associated General Contractors, and Alaska's congressional delegation. Thorough legal research should be undertaken to determine existing barriers to local hire, and remedial measures should then be proposed. It should be noted that efforts in the furtherance of local hire have already been started by the Churches' Socio-Economic Advisory Committee, the Alaska Native Affairs Committee, and other interested groups. Committee: Bishop William J. Gordon, Jr., churches; Dr. George W. Rogers, University of Alaska; Hubert J. Gellert, division industrial development, State government; Ross L. Miller, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Federal Government. To: Senator E. L. BARTLETT. From: William S. Boesch. MEMORANDUM Re: Trip to Alaska, February 17-25. I found strong support for the National Service Corps: 1. During the course of my trip I was approached by many people enthusiastic about the President's proposed National Service Corps. 2. As you know, the delegates to the developmental conference in Fairbanks, meeting to discuss the problems involved in social and economic development of the bush areas of Alaska, passed a resolution urging the Alaska congressional delegation to support vigorously legislation introduced to authorize the Corps. 3. Students at the University of Alaska showed great interest and indicated that they would enjoy working in the underdeveloped areas of Alaska but could not afford to do volunteer work unless their subsistence was paid. 4. Several Federal and State officials suggested to me that the Service Corps workers would be of great help to them in certain one-shot, short-term programs, allowing them to achieve much more in the way of development for a given expenditure. 5. In addition to general support for the National Service Corps, I received a few specific suggestions as to the way the program might be used in Alaska. I have sifted through these and I think the following list will give you a pretty good cross section of what I was told: (a) The Indian community of Holikachuk is actively planning a move to the brandnew village of Grayling, 40 miles west of their present location. They have had a great deal of help from BIA and the State housing authority and to date achieved a great deal by way of preparation for the move. It was suggested to me that when the construction season arrives Service Corpsmen with a knowledge of carpentry, sanitation, electricity, and other skills, would be more than welcome in helping build the new village. |