Alaska Native Response to the Alaska Statehood Movement With Peter Metcalfe, Kim Metcalfe, Kathy Kolkhorst Ruddy, Steve Langdon Researchers will present the findings of the research funded by the Alaska Humanities Foundation Statehood Experience grant. The researchers investigated relevant archives primarily from the period 1944 through 1960. The foundational archives were those of Alaska Native Brotherhood leaders and associates. The question the researchers set out to answer is why the historical record lacks evidence of substantial Alaska Native involvement in the Alaska Statehood Movement, this at a time when the Alaska Native Brotherhood, a well organized and outspoken organization, was on record in support of or in opposition to numerous political issues of the day. The researchers have accessed and documented transcripts of Congressional hearings, the public and private archives of Alaska Native leaders; and the records of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood Grand Camp. In addition, the researchers conducted numerous interviews with people who were politically active in those days.
