The path to tribal leadership for a village boy is unique, adventurous, challenging, and filled with life lessons. My childhood dreams of success were limited to what was available in my hometown of Craig. Growing up in Craig, my dreams of success were intertwined with the vibrant scenes of community life, especially when the large seine boats came into town. I was fascinated watching the large seine boats coming into town for the weekend creating excitement in the community with kids happy to see their dad, wives greeting their husbands and girlfriends excited to see their men. The confectionaries and bars filled to capacity with people spending money in search of a good time, making it all seem like success and fun!
I learned early in my commercial fishing career that a crewmember’s share for the fishing season was not enough money to make it through the winter, and a person needed a winter job if you were going to be a fisherman. Moving to the City of Ketchikan was an effort to improve my family quality of life by getting a job to make it through the winter. Before making this decision, I had spent years relying on subsistence living which created a bond to the land and sea while supplementing household expenses. It seemed like a good idea, but it didn’t work. The job opportunities were scarce, and the cost of living in Ketchikan was higher than anticipated, making it difficult to make ends meet despite my efforts.
Mom always believed that education was the path to successful living. I did not realize how far behind students from rural schools were compared to students from larger schools until I went to Sheldon Jackson Junior College (SJJC). Getting my associates in science degree was an accomplishment for me. Unfortunately, that degree didn’t do me much good back in Craig. Finally getting a substitute teaching job in Klawock reignited my enthusiasm to go back to college and get a bachelor’s degree. Going on to Penn State and getting a master’s degree was the best decision I ever made in my life.
It was a tremendous honor to be the head of the Ketchikan Indian Education Program. This program assumed the responsibility of revitalizing the Southeast Alaska Native culture in Ketchikan. A dozen or more Natives knowledgeable in the culture and language, lacking teaching experience, became excellent instructors of young people eager to identify with their Native culture and languages. I knew that I could manage anything given the opportunity since I had experience managing a commercial fishing business. I didn’t just want to manage; I wanted to have the best Indian Education possible. I found it necessary to attend management workshops and reach out to other Indian Education Act program managers experienced in managing federal programs and supervising people in a professional office setting. I was so very fortunate in hiring an experienced and highly qualified administrative assistant who took pride in turning our program into an operation that anyone would be proud to be a part of.
It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to work with the Ketchikan Indian Education Program that I began to fully appreciate my Native culture. I was impressed with our Native honor ceremonies and protocols of participation. It seemed so honorable and sacred. Reorganizing an IRA (Indian Reorganization Act) tribe that had been dormant for decades was challenging and invigorating. I copied finance management and personnel policy manuals from other tribes and modified them to fit our situation in Ketchikan. Good policies were very important in hiring qualified people to provide the best services possible to those who were in need and eligible for help from various programs. I attended grant writing and grant management seminars at least annually that I found very useful in keeping a competitive edge in acquiring funding to help meet the needs of our tribal citizens.
When I was elected as President of Tlingit Haida Central Council I told my wife, Cathy, that I would like to serve as President for two terms amounting to four years and then I would try doing something else…preferably in Ketchikan, where we had spent the last nine years. I ended up serving for 27 years. I found that the tribe had many potentials, and I enjoyed the challenges along with some successes. Success and speaking out on our problems draw attention, and I got appointed to many commissions and workgroups in Native American policies. I was also invited to give testimony to Congress on the many challenges facing Native Americans and problems with the federal bureaucracy.
Sometimes my personal political positions were somewhat at odds with other Native leaders. For example, I always felt that ANILCA subsistence priority should be “Native priority” instead of “rural priority.” I was living in Ketchikan at the time the debate between rural or Native priority took place and was decided to be rural priority. Many of our people felt that a rural priority was much easier to pass than a Native priority. Wrong! There are still skirmishes around Alaska over subsistence priority when there is a scarcity of resources. I found it very important in public service to never lose sight of why we work to provide services to our needy Native tribal citizens. I was fortunate to live through the jobless times in my life. I have long felt that I had the responsibility to manage our tribal governments equal to or better than my non-Native counterparts in other non-Native governments. Life’s lessons were sometimes cruel but so very important in building an excellent foundation for future success. One of the most difficult things for me to do was to put aside my insecurities and answer tough questions in a public setting from tribal citizens who found fault with organizations I was responsible for. Often, those questions led to thinking about ways to improve the administration of the organization.
I consider myself fortunate to live at a time where I could participate in the transition of Southeast Alaska Native people from the honorable way of life and governance of my ancestors to tribal governments that is modern and professional while embracing the rebirth of our Native languages and culture. Prior to contact traditional Tlingit or Haida leaders had to be wise, strong, and resourceful; Native leaders of the future are blessed with the opportunity to learn from my generation and the generations before me when they face the challenges of the future. Tribal self-determination depends largely on keeping pace with changing times. Preserving and enhancing Native Inherent Sovereignty is manifested in preservation of our people’s Native languages, culture, way of life, and history while respecting the land, waters, and resources of our homeland.
