[ExI] "an aboriginal human from 70,000 B.C."

[John Grigg]

Damien wrote:
I don't have any. But the starting point is to find out how this
horror came about and make sure not to do the same thing again.
>>>

Arghhh!!  ; )  In Alaska a ton of money was spent to raise the standard of
living and greatly upgrade the living conditions of the native villages
(fortunately we have lots of oil money).  Free medical treatment was given
and education was made a big priority.  Teachers who volunteer for a few
years to teach among the native villages get loan forgiveness.  And many
teachers consider this a great experience.  There are a number of
organizations/clubs, which tutor native students at various levels in the
educational ladder and encourage them to not drop out but instead excel
academically.  Crime, especially sexual abuse, violence against women,
neglect of children and substance abuse, have been and still are large
problems.  Even with the financial resources of the state, it is hard to
properly seek out, punish/and or treat those with these criminal
tendancies.  The vast distances involved and the cultural barriers add to
this dilemma.

Native Alaskan young people (especially the promising ones who attend
college/some form of higher education) must decide whether to stay in the
village setting, or relocate to an Alaskan "big" city like Anchorage, or
move even further out as they make a life/family/career for themselves.  I
had friends growing up whose parents lived in Anchorage (village life was
largely alien to them), took part in the larger society, and yet tried at
least to some degree to stay in touch with their culture through various
Native Alaskan social/fraternal organizations.  And so for these young
people it was a "natural thing" at some level live in two worlds.

I have noticed that military service was an excellent way for many Alaskan
natives to integrate with American society.  They took great pride in having
served and some even made a career out of it.  I was very disappointed when
the Army decided to discontinue two elite arctic warfare scout units that
had been made up mostly of natives and had been established to help repel a
possible Japanese invasion of the Alaskan mainland.  It had been a tradition
for several generations in some Alaskan native families to serve in these
outfits.

John Grigg
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