http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4434 2026-02-06T06:02:25Z 2026-02-06T06:02:25Z Kell, Elizabeth Allen, Kevin http://hdl.handle.net/11122/16282 2025-12-16T18:05:37Z 2025-12-15T00:00:00Z

ALASKKKA - The Invisible Empire in the Last Frontier: A Look into the 1920s Klan of the North Kell, Elizabeth; Allen, Kevin When discussing hate groups in North America, few evoke as immediate and visceral a reaction as the Ku Klux Klan. Often regarded as a symbol of radical white supremacist ideology, the Klan is widely associated with the American South; its white hoods, burning crosses, and Confederate flags have become enduring emblems of racial hatred and extremist nationalism. While many assume the Klan's influence was confined to Southern states, the reality is far more expansive and troubling. During its resurgence in the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan extended its reach well beyond its traditional strongholds, gaining footholds in states such as Idaho, Washington, and, most infamously, Oregon. Surprisingly, and often overlooked in historical discourse, the Klan's influence even reached into America's most remote and rugged territory: Alaska, the so-called Last Frontier. Where explicitly and implicitly attempted (and possibly in some areas succeed) to influence race relations, politics, and community organizations.

2025-12-15T00:00:00Z Livingston, Michael Murray, Martha G. Evans, Stenner Soloview, Fyodor G. Smith, Carol Larsen http://hdl.handle.net/11122/12729 2023-06-30T01:01:50Z 2022-03-10T00:00:00Z

Benny Benson's Hidden Unangax̂ Heritage Livingston, Michael; Murray, Martha G.; Evans, Stenner; Soloview, Fyodor G.; Smith, Carol Larsen Friday, July 9, 2027, will be the 100-year anniversary of the raising of the Alaska flag designed by seventh grade student Benny Benson. Top 8% of US state flag designs. Only US state flag designed by a Native American. Youngest designer. Indentured #217. Orphan. Poorest. “Inmate.” Only US state flag designer alive when the flags were flown to the Moon. As we prepare for the 100-year anniversary, what do know about Benny - as opposed to assume? We assumed that Benny was age 13 when he won the Alaska flag contest in 1927; history books said so. We assumed that his date of birth was October 12, 1913, and that his mother’s maiden name was Tatiana Schebolein. His official State of Alaska birth certificate said so. Yet, while researching Benny’s family tree, we uncovered documents which indicated otherwise. We contacted a relative who said Benny’s birth certificate is incorrect. We contacted the State of Alaska’s Health Analytics and Vital Records Section (HAVRS) who contacted the Alaska State Museums. A panel of Alaska history experts reviewed our documents and agreed that Benny’s birthdate should be corrected. HAVRS said we needed a court order. We petitioned the Alaska Superior Court, and on February 28, 2022, Alaska Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman issued a court order (containing Unangam Tunuu – Aleut language) to correct Benny Benson’s birth records. Benny was actually born on September 12, 1912 – over 13 months earlier than previously reported. Benny’s mother’s maiden name was not Tatiana Schebolein; it was Tatiana Ioannovna Dediukhina. We also assumed that Benny was Alutiiq. Many sources said so, and good sources too: Museums, libraries, Alaska Native organizations, and Alaska historical societies. In 1950, when Benny was age 38, he moved to Kodiak. Sadly, in 1972, at age 59, Benny passed away and is buried in Kodiak. Kodiak is Alutiiq territory, and this may explain why Benny is often identified as Alutiiq. Yet Alaska Native ancestry is not defined solely upon where we move to later in life or the geographical location where we are born or are buried. Alaska Native ancestry is defined by where our ancestors are born and lived. When one of our genealogy colleagues casually mentioned finding records that indicated Benny’s mother Tatiana was born in Unangax̂ territory, this launched a lengthy-, in-depth genealogical investigation of his family tree. With help from many others, we found birth and marriage records which demonstrate that Benny’s mother Tatiana and his grandparents were born in Unalaska – the heart of Unangax̂ territory. Thus, Benny was a member of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska – the Qawax̂ or Sea Lion Tribe. His great grandparents were from Amlia Village; Benny was a descendant of the Native Village of Atka. Despite others claiming without evidence that Benny Benson was Alutiiq, the documents found during this research show that Benny was Unangax̂. This research is significant on several fronts. First, it spotlights Benny Benson who – despite all odds – won a contest by reaching for the stars. Over 95 years after he won the Alaska flag contest, Benny is still in the news in a heartwarming story during the depth of a gloomy global pandemic and conflict in Ukraine. Like most family tree stories, there are sad (even heart-wrenching) times, but overall, Benny’s story is uplifting. This paper illuminates the plight of Alaska orphans who sometimes do not know their date of birth, the names of their ancestors, or their cultural heritage. Orphans need good families and thorough family tree research. This paper also underscores the importance of questioning written history and the need for history detectives keen on forensically investigating Alaska family trees with patient persistence while seeking the truth – whatever the truth may be. The birth record correction is significant because it changes Alaska history and represents a larger effort towards truth, reconciliation, equity, and racial justice for North American indigenous peoples who were often given the short shrift in the 20th Century. The birth record correction is a victory for archivists, Russian Orthodox family record keepers, and genealogists who love a complex mystery that twists and turns over time. This paper spotlights the need for careful research before centenary celebrations. Finally, this paper spotlights the linguistic and artistic talents of the Unangax̂ people from whom so much has been taken during the past 300 years and who have given so much including the name Alaska itself and now we know the strong design of the unique Alaska flag. This paper is dedicated to Alaska seventh grade students who know there is no chance of winning a contest. And enter anyway.

2022-03-10T00:00:00Z Veltre, Douglas W. May, Alan G. http://hdl.handle.net/11122/11850 2021-01-31T01:01:49Z 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z

Diaries of Archaeological Expeditions to Alaska with the Smithsonian's Aleš Hrdlička in 1936, 1937, and 1938 Veltre, Douglas W.; May, Alan G. For three summers in the late 1930s, Dr. Aleš Hrdlička, the preeminent physical anthropologist in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, led expeditions to southwestern Alaska to investigate the earliest peopling of that region. Curator of Physical Anthropology at the U.S. National Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the acknowledged “founding father” of physical anthropology in the United States sailed north with small crews of young men—whom he called his “boys”—in the summers of 1936, 1937, and 1938 to probe ancient villages, camps, and burial places on Kodiak Island and throughout the Aleutian Islands. Only one member of his crews took part in all three of these expeditions—Alan G. May. While nearly everyone who knew Hrdlička recognized him to be a kind and often generous scientist of world renown, albeit an elite and difficult taskmaster, May developed an affection for him and an interest in Alaskan archaeology that brought him back on each summer’s venture. For his part, Hrdlička considered May to be his “best man.” Most important, unlike Hrdlička’s other crew members, May kept detailed and lengthy diaries of each summer’s thoughts and experiences. Those documents, presented here, offer insights into both May’s own character as well as his personal perspective on—as Aleš Hrdlička has recently been called—“a most peculiar man.” May’s diaries have been transcribed, edited, and made available through Archives and Special Collections, University of Alaska Anchorage/Alaska Pacific University Consortium Library (henceforth, the Archives), with the support of the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, the not-for-profit Alaska Native Corporation for the region. In this introduction, I offer some brief historical context to those diaries. I begin with background on Hrdlička, including his place in the discipline of American anthropology and his interest in Alaska studies. Next, I outline the significance of the Kodiak Island and Aleutian Islands region to Hrdlička. This is followed, based in part on my personal association with him, by notes about Alan May and his participation in Hrdlička’s research in Alaska. Following this, I outline the three expeditions and their participants. Finally, I offer observations on May’s diaries and the manner in which they are presented here. --Douglas W. Veltre, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of Alaska Anchorage FOREWORDS: -- In 1834, Russian Orthodox Priest (now Saint Innocent) Ivan Veniaminov wrote that there is “no reason to conceal… cruel acts against the Aleuts.” At the time, Veniaminov was talking about the promyshlenniki – the cruel sailors who forced Aleuts/Unangax̂ to hunt sea otter. About 100 years later, more cruel acts were committed against the Aleut/Unangax̂ people, this time by American archaeologists who sailed to the Aleutian Islands to dig up skulls of our ancestors to display in museums. When I read Alan G. May’s diaries, I found their level of disrespect unconscionable. When Dr. Aleš Hrdlička’s wife passed away, he treated her burial with the utmost respect with soft music, rose petals, green velvet, and kisses. When you compare that with how he and his “boys” treated Aleut/Unangax̂ ancestors, you have to wonder, “Why the difference?” I encourage you to read Alan G. May’s diary. If this painful part of our history is concealed, it may be repeated. Dr. Dimitri Philemonof -- President/CEO – Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association Part of APIA’s mission is to “strengthen and preserve the Unangax̂ cultural heritage.” As director of APIA’s Cultural Heritage Department and Unangax̂ Heritage Library and Archives, part of my responsibilities are to encourage and support the publication of literature about Unangax̂ history – even if that history is sometimes less-than-perfect and sometimes even uncomfortable. What Dr. Aleš Hrdlička and his boys did in the 1930s, sailing up and down the Aleutian Islands, digging up graves – even recent graves in other parts of Alaska – is today uncomfortable. Yet people need to know this history. By sponsoring the publication of Alan G. May’s diaries, APIA and the Cultural Heritage Department are decreasing the chances of this history being buried and forgotten. Millie McKeown – Director – APIA Cultural Heritage Department I read every word of Alan G. May’s diaries. The cavalier and disrespectful attitude Dr. Aleš Hrdlička and his boys displayed was sometimes challenging to read. Yet Alan G. May’s diaries are invaluable because they clearly record how Dr. Aleš Hrdlička and his boys conducted their activities in the 1930s, what their mental thought processes were, and how they felt justified in what they were doing. As Dr. Gordon Pullar noted writing specifically about Hrdlička, to take bones of Alaska Native people and to put them in “drawers located thousands of miles from their burial place was the height of disrespect.” If you want a deeper understanding of Aleut/Unangax̂ history, read Alan G. May’s diaries. Dr. Michael Livingston – Cultural Heritage Specialist – APIA Cultural Heritage Department

2021-01-01T00:00:00Z