ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION
JOINT FEDERAL-STATE COMMISSION
ON
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS AFFECTING
ALASKA NATIVES
4000 Old Seward Highway, Suite 100
Anchorage,
Alaska 99503
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ANCHORAGE TESTIMONY - OCTOBER 15, 1992
DEPOSITION EXHIBIT #5 - TESTIMONY
OF HARRY R. LANG
Re-Establishment of Mt. Edgecumbe, Chemawa, Sheldon Jackson, Wrangell Institute type schools:
1. Communications: The transition to Tribal Governments-Corporations-State and Government representation-AFN, etc. was made easy because of Mt. Edgecumbe, Wrangell Institute and Sheldon Jackson. The communication was there. Everyone knew everyone else, either as classmates, schoolmates, school rivals and such, from Barrow to Metlakatla there was communication.
2. School Spirit: finishing education/cutting down drop-out rates. The ANEC has more or less admitted, as almost all of us already know, the Molly Hootch Schools are a disaster.
School Spirit :
a. A good big school attendance
b. Wanting to finish with your class.
3. Competing Among Ourselves: and nothaving to always compare to whites orwhite
accomplishments. We have never had trouble competing academically, athletically,
or ethnically in our own schools - S.J./M.E.S./Chemawa/W.I./Haskell, etc. It
is our innate fear of comparing to whites that holds back a lot of our
young people in white schools. With our own schools we had no shortage
of academically outstanding youngsters who became leaders. We had no shortage
of outstanding athletes. We had no shortage of religious leaders. Where
are they now - buried in the Maw(?) of the White School System orstuck
in a Molly Hootch School with no chance to shine in their particular expertise.
4. Getting the older pols (?) to admit we made a mistake - there are a number who see this not as a victory for our children, but a victory over the state. A phyrric (?) victory, but a victory nevertheless. And they don't want to admit a mistake no matter the impact on our children.
5. The language in school issues could be much more easily solved and carried out in this atmosphere.
6. Drop-out Rates: discipline -- supervised or curfewed activities. The unsupervised activities or lack of activity at home, the alcohol consumption, drug abuse, pregnancy rate, would drastically be changed from unsupervised youth to supervised-disciplined-structured education. The logging camp schools do much academically and personality-wise because of their almost boarding school approach. Their lack of teachers (in numbers) does not seem to inhibit either the children or the teachers - and - the discipline is there.
7. I am an S.J. man. Our discipline and grading was the best. Discipline was such that the military seemed easy. We had no trouble in the military. Almost all of the officers, CEO's, Representatives, Council and Tribal Officials are a product of this system.
8. Re-unions being held
9. Look at the realities. Competing among ourselves brings out the best in us
-
Mr. Bob Singyke
Bud Ivey, head of PHH Indian Health
Mary Jane Fate, M.E.
Byron Mallot, S.J.
Roger Lang, S.J.
The leadership is almost a littany of this type of school - do we have anything coming up -
a brain in North Pole, unfortunately, is known as a brain only in North Pole.
10. The loss of the Alaska School was not an-etched-in-stone decision. We were told later that we simply did not protest or fight the closure. Oregon fought; Kansas fought, New Mexico fought, Oklahoma fought, we didn't.
11. What do we have coming up that would keep open the lines of communications between peoples, tribes, governments and corporations unless we know each other.
12. I have never heard a dissenting word in discussions on this subject, with elders, students, etc.
Harry R. Lang
616 Bierka Street
Sitka AK 99835
Ph# 747-8892
This document was ocr scanned. We have made every
attempt to keep the online document the same as the original,
including the recorder's original misspellings or typos.
