Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorHoefler, Carol Fuiten
dc.date.accessioned2022-12-18T04:49:49Z
dc.date.available2022-12-18T04:49:49Z
dc.date.issued2022-08
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11122/13073
dc.descriptionThesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2022en_US
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines the Volunteers in Service to America program as it operated in rural Alaska from 1965 to 1971. Oral histories, correspondence from the volunteers, trainers and stakeholders offer a rich historical perspective of the program's successes and failures. Remote and underdeveloped village conditions presented daunting operational challenges to the program and its volunteers. During the study period, rural Alaska underwent dramatic social and political changes as recent statehood and looming resource development necessitated resolution of Native land claims. A series of new federal anti-poverty initiatives and the transfer of existing agencies to state and local oversight presented opportunities for volunteer participation. From a national perspective, the program struggled as political tides shifted and conflicting ideologies impacted its mission. Through analysis of interviews and written accounts, this study raises questions about the volunteers' perceived mission as it relates to these rapidly changing conditions. It provides a lens for evaluation of the program's successes and failures. It recognizes the volunteers' efforts and reveals the serendipitous outcome of continued Alaskan civic participation from many of its original volunteers. This study highlights their efforts and demonstrates how the rural "VISTA Alaska" contributed to the development of a cohort of young professionals committed to lasting careers in service areas that have benefited rural Alaska and underserved populations.en_US
dc.description.tableofcontentsChapter 1. Introduction: The EOA programs and their role in rural Alaska. Chapter 2. Methods and literature review -- 2.1. Methodology -- 2.2. Literature Review -- 2.3. VISTA in a national and regional context -- 2.4. The broad benefits of volunteerism -- 2.5. VISTA in an Alaskan context -- 2.6. Personal published accounts. Chapter 3. Operational details and individual recollections -- 3.1. Motivations and recruitment -- 3.2. Program inception: Original administrative structure in Alaska -- 3.3. Volunteer training. Chapter 4. Honey buckets, hauled water and a culture of visiting -- 4.1. Assignments, adjustments, immersion, initiatives -- 4.2. VISTAs' perceptions of poverty across rural Alaska. Chapter 5. Interactions with schools, private businesses, and government agencies -- 5.1. Schools, churches, private businesses -- 5.2. Individual and program successes -- 5.3. The RurAL CAP legacy programs -- 5.3.1. Head Start -- 5.3.2. Alaska Legal Services -- 5.3.3. Community Economic Development Corporation -- 5.4. Operation grass roots, budget uncertainty and the quest for llocal control -- 5.4.1. Operation grass roots -- 5.4.2. Budget uncertainty for Alaska State Community Action Program -- 5.4.3. Transitions - state- and national-level program revisions -- 5.5. Conflict and termination -- 5.6. Program suspension and restructuring. Chapter 6. Aftermath - continued service in Alaska. Chapter 7. Conclusions and Discussion. Bibliography -- Manuscript Collections -- Appendices.en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subjectVoluntarismen_US
dc.subjectVolunteersen_US
dc.subjectCommunity developmenten_US
dc.subjectCommunity health servicesen_US
dc.subjectRural developmenten_US
dc.subjectRural conditionsen_US
dc.subjectRural pooren_US
dc.subjectEconomic Opportunity Act of 1964en_US
dc.subject.otherMaster of Arts in Arctic and Northern Studiesen_US
dc.titleNorthern vistas: a retrospective of the rural Alaskan Volunteers in service to America program 1965-1971en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.degreemaen_US
dc.identifier.departmentArctic and Northern Studies Programen_US
dc.contributor.chairEhrlander, Mary F.
dc.contributor.committeeMcCartney, Leslie
dc.contributor.committeeWight, Philip
refterms.dateFOA2022-12-18T04:49:50Z


Files in this item

Thumbnail
Name:
Hoefler_C_2022.pdf
Size:
4.588Mb
Format:
PDF

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record