Call to Action
Week of October 14, 2002

The Northwest Arctic Borough and North Slope Borough hosted a Workforce Development meeting on September 25, 2002 at our new Assembly Chambers in Kotzebue. As expressed by Assembly President Walter Sampson, who opened the meeting, "We need to address the critical issues of healthy communities and a quality education system."

Nearly fifty representatives of concerned organizations attended the meeting. Guests from out of town included Bob Harcharek and Roy Nageak, Sr. from the North Slope, Carl Rose and Bruce Johnson from the Association of Alaska School Boards, Oliver Smith of Conoco/Phillips Alaska, Inc., and Kitty Farnham of BP Alaska.

Enlightening job data was provided by Maniilaq Association, our region's largest employer. Among the 450 Maniilaq employees, there is about 70% Native hire within the Association and 60% Native hire at the Medical Center. For jobs requiring a high school diploma only, the local hire is nearly 98%. For jobs requiring at least two years of college, that rate of hire drops to 50%. Finally, for jobs that require a four-year degree, the local hire rate drops to just 5%.

Clearly, most of the top jobs are not filled by our local people. We need to nurture the attitude that high school graduation is a good start to an education, but it is only a start.

The Workforce Development Committee drafted three recommendations for how to proceed. The first recommendation was to determine each community's need for and desire to support strategic change. Obviously, there must be a strong local commitment for change before it can occur. Secondly, the Committee recommended creating the partnerships that would be necessary to support healthy communities, student learning, and quality future workers. And the third recommendation was the need to support the school district and local community effort to create school improvement plans.

Based on the recent high school graduations I have attended in our region, it seems that more and more of our graduates are pursuing vocational or higher academic education. It is a trend that we must work hard to continue and develop further.

However, our poor overall high school graduation rate continues to be a major problem. All at the meeting agreed that we have an urgent need to address the dropout problem that begins to occur at about age 14 for our students.

I believe that the first and most important step we must take is to revive our traditional value that a whole village is responsible for raising its children. Students who stop attending school do so because the village allows them to quit, even though it may be hard for us to admit that. When we begin to see each child's failure as an entire community's failure, we will be on the road to recovery.

A New Northwest Arctic Culture Heritage Center
Week of October 21, 2002

I am very pleased to announce that the National Park Service has unveiled plans to construct a new $12 million facility on the site of the present NANA Museum in Kotzebue. Dave Spirtes, Superintendent for Western Arctic National Park Lands, and his special assistant Willie Goodwin met with me recently to discuss the project and gather ideas. The new facility, which will house both a museum/cultural center and Park Service staff, has been discussed for the last five years and was finally incorporated into the funding plans of the agency. Construction is anticipated in 2004.

An agreement has already been reached with NANA Regional Corporation for the purchase of the existing museum property. The sale will be finalized when the pending Congressional budget is passed.

According to Mr. Spirtes, who has resided in Kotzebue as a Park Service employee for the last eight years, the project is in the pre-design stage. It is yet to be determined whether any part of the existing structure will be retained.

I am already confident that the Cultural Heritage Center will be a true showcase of the traditional life of our people and the history of the region. I feel that way because of the careful approach the Park Service is taking to gather public input. On the evening of October 29, there will be a public discussion of the project at our Borough Assembly chambers. Representatives of the Park Service will meet with local organization leaders here the following day. And in April, after preliminary plans are on paper, they will host a meeting of elders from the region to gather their special ideas.

The new museum should provide a boost to the local tourism industry, which has dropped off significantly over the last several years. It will house not only our amazing wildlife collection and artifacts, but a variety of new exhibits. The building will also represent new office space for the 20 full-time Park Service employees and additional part-time workers in the summer.

Because of the multi-use of the facility, it will be open year around for the public, which is a huge plus. All visiting student groups as well as local students will be able to make educational visits. The many winter visitors to Kotzebue will also have a chance to tour the museum.

It's exciting to see this kind of positive change in our future. We at the Borough will be doing everything we can to assist the National Park Service with the planning and future operation of the Northwest Arctic Cultural Heritage Center.

The second year of operation for the Small Business Revolving Loan Program was recently concluded. 72 loans were executed between February 1, 2002 (the time at which 2002 Permanent Fund Dividend applications were available to the public) and the program cut-off date of September 30, 2002. Loans totaled $67,127.21 for the year, a decrease of approximately $25,000 from the previous year. The decrease is largely traceable to a reduction in activity for Amigaq Coppermine exploration and a decrease in the average amount of individual loans. As in the past, loans were for purposes ranging from purchase of materials for arts and crafts production to goods for resale in small stores.

For those unfamiliar with the program, loans are made in the form of vendor payments only and are repaid through PFD assignments to the Borough. Initial defaults result when the borrower has other claims against a dividend that result in non-payment of an assignment or portion of an assignment to the Borough. Assignments are backed up by promissory notes to the Borough for the loan amounts.

The maximum loan amount was $1,500.00 this year. That was based on an early estimate from the Permanent Fund Corporation that a worse case scenario for the 2002 dividend would be about $1,700. As you know, the PFD ultimately turned out to be just over $1,540! Loans for next year are likely to be capped at around $1,000.

The program has proven to be very popular with our residents and continues to be the only one of its kind in Alaska. We believe it is an excellent tool for teaching the principle of self-investment. It is the result of cooperative investment by the Borough, Maniilaq Association, NANA and USDA Rural Development.

A key product of the Small Business Grant Program this year is a facility for artists in Selawik. The use of a building was donated and grant funds will provide a heating stove, some windows, and tools for community use. The operating plan was discussed at a meeting in Selawik on October 22 with Borough staff. Similar facilities are being developed in Ambler, Buckland and Noatak. The outcome should be a safe and efficient work environment for artists and those who are anxious to learn.

Small business grant funds are also being utilized to develop a cottage sewing industry in the villages through encouragement of school dress codes requiring that atikluks be worn frequently. Encouragement is in the form of funds for the purchase of material. $1,600 is requested for Shungnak at this time, as the Advisory Board adopted a plan to have all 76 students wear atikluks at least one day per week. Kobuk has already adopted a similar plan and will be receiving grant funds for material as well. Ambler, Selawik and Kiana are all expected to adopt some degree of traditional dress policy in the near future. The goals of this approach are numerous: promote school, community and cultural spirit and pride, add income opportunities for seamstresses in the villagers, and rekindle interest in sewing by the young people.

The Arts Purchase/Marketing Program remains active, although local sales slowed by mid-September. Many people visit our new offices and we maintain an art inventory for our guests to enjoy. Our total purchases under the program have now reached nearly $260,000 (from over 120 individual vendors). A new policy on payment for arts and crafts to local residents was initiated this month. Checks are now issued by our accounting department just once a week.

A grant application was recently submitted to the Rasmuson Foundation for the purchase of two lots adjoining the Borough parking lot. If the grant is approved, that land will become the site of an Arts Center in Kotzebue, where all artists will have the opportunity to work cooperatively.A grant for construction funds of $395,000 from HUD was approved in September.

Village Travel. Economic Development staff visited the villages of Kobuk, Shungnak, Ambler, Kiana and Selawik in recent weeks, where we hosted town meetings and spoke with nearly all the students about arts and crafts, school uniforms (atikluks), and opportunities for employment after high school. Arts Program manager Vika Owens did full day scrimshaw demonstrations in the latter three villages.

Other Business. We hosted a Chukotkan delegation in Kotzebue for three days in early October. In addition to discussing arts marketing with the Borough, they met with representatives of Maniilaq Association and NANA Regional Corporation.

We also provided technical and conceptual assistance to Maniilaq Association in the preparation of a grant application for Tobacco Prevention and Cessation. Our special interest in this project is the potential involvement of student governments at our region's schools. If the proposal is accepted, each student council will earn between $2,000 and $6,000 for administering the program in their particular schools.

We are working in cooperation with the National Park Service on the planning for the new Arctic Cultural Heritage Center that is scheduled for construction in Kotzebue in 2004.

The Arts for Awards Program took center stage once again at the Bush Brawl Wrestling tournament in Kotzebue. 29 winners of high school and middle school matches each received a birch bark frame with a handsome certificate. Other awards planned for this year include caribou skin and ivory basketball pins.

These Bush Brawl inserts were placed in birch bark frames made by Mercy Cleveland of Ambler.

Kotzebue High School Students Designed Advertisements To Persuade People Not To Drink

Art Work For Sale

Artwork Currently FOR SALE at the Northwest Arctic Borough Office
(Located on the 2nd floor of the National Guard Armory in Kotzebue)
For Telephone Sales, contact Vika Owens at (800) 478-1110 (toll free in Alaska) or (907) 442-2500 M-F 8:00-4:30

Traditional Walrus Gut Umiak made to actual scale 30" x 18" x 6" $1,000.00

9 1/2" x 4" Whale Bone Fisherman with Mammoth Bone face & Ivory Fish by Donald Ferguson $165; 11" x 4 1/2" Whale Bone Fisherman with Mammoth Bone Face & Ivory Fish by Donald Ferguson $200.

11 1/2" x 5" Whale Bone Fisherman with Ivory Face & Fish by Donald Ferguson $235.

14" Traditional Doll by Lona Adams $175; 14" Traditional Doll by Kathy Ward $150; Traditional Doll *Sold*; Traditional Doll by Elvira Downey $235.

Traditional Dolls by Beatrice Lisbourne $300; Lona Adams $200.

Ivory Knife with Moose Antler handle by Jack Frankson $60.

Whale Bone, Ivory and Fossilized Ivory Mask by Adolf Shagloak *Sold*	Birch Bark Picture Frame by Carol Cleveland $50.	Caribou Skin Mask with Wolf & Beaver Ruff by Mabel Berry $85

35" x 20" Moose Antler Bald Eagle Carving $400.00

Solid Ivory Knife, Sheath and Display Stand $600.00

Northwest Arctic Borough Staff Directory

Mayor's Department
Ross Schaeffer Sr., Mayor
Valarie Romane, Assistant to the Mayor
Jake Stoops, Information Coordinator

Finance Department
Tula Lie, Comptroller
Judy Hassinger, Finance Director

Planning Department
Noah Naylor, Director

Public Servies
Tom Bolen, Director
Toni Evak, LEPC/PSC
Angela Joule, Receptionist/DMV

Economic Development
Lee Stoops, Director
Vika Owens, Arts & Crafts Coordinator

Borough Clerk's Office
Helena Hildreth, Borough Clerk
Geri Jones, Deputy Borough Clerk

Northwest Arctic Borough P.O. Box 1110 Kotzebue, AK 99752 (907)442-2500 (800)478-1110 Fax:(907)442-2930

(c) 2001 Northwest Arctic Borough All rights reserved