Embedded Files
5.2.5.wavAs state land selections and federal projects threatened traditional Native lands, new leadership emerged in the Alaskan Native community focused on protecting Native rights.
In 1962, following a conference of Inupiaq people in Barrow discussing the threatened nuclear bomb detonations of Project Chariot, Inupiaq artist Howard Rock urged the founding of a Native newspaper to keep people informed on issues important to Native people and their communities. With funding from philanthropist Henry S. Forbes, Rock began the Tundra Times. The weekly newspaper, which was published until 1997, gave Alaska Natives a common voice for the first time.
The emergence of Alaskan Native activism to protect their rights was a microcosm of larger changes sweeping the nation at the time. Across all of America in the late 1950s and 1960s, minority groups were creating movements to fight for civil rights and fair economic opportunities. While the African American civil rights movement is the best known, this movement inspired other groups, such as women, Latinos, Native Americans, and the LGBT community, to organize. Within this national climate, Alaska Natives developed sophisticated political strategies to advocate for their concerns.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs had sent many Alaska Natives to schools outside Alaska. Though their adjustment was very difficult, it was these schools that brought together many young Natives who would go on to become important leaders. The discussions and perspectives they learned from other Alaskan Natives at the BIA schools helped unify the different Native communities. In 1966, Native leaders from across the state formed the first statewide Native organization, the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), to advocate for Alaska Native interests.
To navigate through the textbook, click on the next page button or go to the navigation menu on the top left.
Report abuse