Laura Bergt
Laura Bergt | |
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Born | Laura Mae Beltz October 1, 1940 Candle, Territory of Alaska, U.S. |
Died | March 14, 1984 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | (aged 43)
Other names |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 1960–1977 |
Laura Mae Bergt (
In 1968, Bergt testified before the United States House of Representatives on the importance of settling Native claims to provide adequate funding for development of programs to address tribal issues and protect Indigenous hunting and fishing rights. Her personal relationship with Vice President Spiro Agnew and her appointment in 1970 to the National Council on Indian Opportunity were pivotal in obtaining passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971. In 1972, she was appointed by President Richard Nixon to serve on a national policy advisory committee of Indigenous leaders, and in 1975 participated on the 15-member National Health Advisory Committee. She also was commissioner of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board from 1976 to 1978 and was a member of President Gerald Ford's United States Bicentennial Council.
At the state level, Bergt was instrumental in pressing for the creation of schools to teach children with disabilities and preserve Native Arts. She served on various housing and rural development initiatives and chaired the World Eskimo Indian Olympics Committee in 1966 and 1967. She was elected in 1973 to a term on the Borough Assembly of the Fairbanks City Council. The sophomore-junior girls' dormitory at her alma mater, Mt. Edgecumbe High School, is named in her honor and she was the inaugural recipient of the Frank Whaley Award, which recognizes outstanding service to the Eskimo Olympics. In 2015, she was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.
Early life and education
Laura Mae Beltz, whose
Career
Early career, promoting Alaska (1957–1969)
After graduation, Beltz worked as a secretary to the Kotzebue station manager of
In 1964, Bergt was elected as the national committeewoman from Alaska for the
From 1968, Bergt worked with the tourism board, the Alaska Business Council, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, among other organizations, to promote the state, traveling to Costa Mesa, Century City, and Los Angeles, California, for the annual Alaska Travel and Trade Fair.[18][3] At these events, she made public appearances at civic and fraternal gatherings, broadcast on television and radio, demonstrated Native sporting and skill events, and modeled traditional fashion and arts and crafts.[19] She promoted Alaskan foods and culture, but also talked about issues for Native Alaskans such as the high mortality rates; ecology and environmental protection; housing struggles including the lack of electricity, sanitation, and running water; and limited educational opportunities.[20] In 1969, the Bergts moved back to Fairbanks, when Neil was promoted to president of Interior Airways.[21] Bergt worked as the office manager for the Alaska Federation of Natives and secretary to Emil Notti, president of the federation. She also worked for the Tundra Times and served as a director on the newspaper.[2][22] In March 1970, she attended Expo '70 in Japan to promote Alaska.[20]
Native affairs, land claims (1968–1972)
In 1968, Bergt served as a member of the State Tourism Advisory Board, was on the Alaska state Committee on Children and Youth, Health, and Welfare (state chapter for the
Bergt was invited to attend the inauguration of President Richard Nixon, who named her to join the National Council on Indian Opportunity (NCIO) in August 1970 for a two-year term.[2][32][33] The NCIO was chaired by Vice President Spiro Agnew, whom she had met in 1968 during his trip campaigning in Alaska.[32][34] That year, the Mt. Edgecumbe Boarding School named the sophomore-junior girls' dormitory in her honor.[3] On July 8, 1970, Nixon delivered a speech reversing the government policy of tribal termination in favor of allowing their self-determination.[35][36][37] Negotiations between the NCIO and the government produced seven bills by October to modify the federal and state roles with regard to Native people. One allowed Native authorities to sue the federal government if their interests in natural resources were damaged or jeopardized by governmental actions. Another permitted federal lending to tribal authorities, while one bill gave tribes the ability to manage federal programs and services, such as health, welfare and education projects for their communities. Two others allowed Indigenous people to transfer their civil service status if they changed from federal to tribal programs and to control livestock which trespassed on their lands.[37][38] The speech also resulted in planning a conference to discuss the bills by the National Congress of American Indians in March 1971 in Kansas City, Missouri.[36]
During the Kansas City conference, Bergt taught Agnew how to
Later career (1972–1983)
After her two-year appointment to the NCIO expired, Nixon asked her to serve on a six-member national committee of Indigenous leaders, which included Frank Belvin (Choctaw) of Muskogee, Oklahoma;[45][46] Harold Shunck (Yankton-Sioux) of Rapid City, South Dakota;[45][47] Neal McCaleb (Chickasaw) of Edmond, Oklahoma; John C. Rainer (Taos Pueblo) of Albuquerque, New Mexico;[45][46] and John Seneca (Seneca) of Washington, D.C. The advisory board was to focus on prioritizing and advising Nixon of the needs of Native Americans.[45] Among Bergt's many local initiatives were advocacy for textile and animal husbandry training, housing proposals, and employment of Native Alaskans on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.[48] She also worked on initiatives to promote care for children with disabilities, including provision of housing and rehabilitation services.[3] In 1972, she began pushing the legislature to fund schools for children with special physical and mental needs, as there were no such facilities in the state.[49] She advocated for establishing three regional schools to provide specialized education for children who had learning disabilities or were blind or deaf.[49] She was called to a hearing on the matter and Governor William Egan appointed her to serve on the Hard-of-Hearing Task Force.[50][51] He also selected her as a member of the Rural Affairs Commission.[51]
In March 1973, Bergt was nominated by Egan to fill the vacated seat of Don Young in the Alaska Senate.[2][51] Party members refused to endorse her candidacy, rejecting her because the appointment did not follow established protocols of coming from the prospective list supplied by the Fairbanks Republican District Committee.[2][52] After the initial rejection, Egan resubmitted her name to fill the seat and the Senate rejected the appointment a second time.[53] In May, Egan appointed Bergt to serve on the Reapportionment Board, which had been ordered by the Alaska Supreme Court to establish a permanent redistricting plan in accordance with the state constitution.[54] Bergt was elected to serve in October 1973 on the Fairbanks City Council's Borough Assembly representing the North Star Borough.[2][55] She did not seek re-election when her three-year term on the Borough Assembly expired.[56][57]
Bergt was selected in 1973, as part of the Board of Regents for the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[2][58] In 1974, she began working for the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Board on a study to determine the feasibility of establishing an arts institute for Alaska Natives. Also on the committee were Mary Jane Fate and author Thomas Richards, Jr.[59] They traveled throughout the state to evaluate if cultural preservation should focus on traditional or contemporary arts, possible locations for a facility and student housing options, and whether curricula should include courses on marketing and technological training as well.[60] With the assistance of Howard Rock of the Tundra Times, the committee was able to secure federal funds to establish the Institute of Alaska Native Arts.[61]
In 1975, Bergt was appointed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Caspar Weinberger to serve on the 15-member National Health Advisory Committee.[62] That year, she was also named by President Gerald Ford to serve on the United States Bicentennial Council to plan the 1976 celebrations in honor of the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution.[2][62] She was selected in May 1976, for a two-year term as the commissioner of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior.[2][63] In December, she was appointed to the executive committee of Organization for the Management of Alaska's Resources.[64]
In her later life, Bergt continued to work with the State Tourism Advisory Board, served on the boards of many organizations, and made numerous public appearances.
Death and legacy
Laura Bergt Crockett died on March 14, 1984, in Honolulu from kidney failure.[67][69] Her remains were cremated, and a service was held on March 25 at the Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage.[69] She is widely remembered for facilitating the discussions which resulted in the drafting and settlement of the Alaskan land claims.[69][70] Richards wrote in 1973, that the Alaska Federation of Natives and its representatives struggled to gain consideration of their land claims for years. He credited the appointment of Bergt to the National Council on Indian Opportunity as the catalyst for overcoming differences between Native leaders and convincing the Nixon administration to support their claims in 1971.[71] In 1984, she was posthumously bestowed the inaugural Frank Whaley Award of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, which honors outstanding contributions to the organization.[72] In 2015, she was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to the state.[73]
References
Citations
- ^ Tundra Times 1969b, p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Richards 1984.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1970a, p. 5.
- ^ Death Record 1941, p. 186.
- ^ US Census 1930, p. 1B.
- ^ Marriage Certificate 1909, p. 56.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1961, p. 7.
- ^ a b c d Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1967b, p. 9.
- ^ The Nome Nugget 1958, p. 6.
- ^ Gregory 1959, pp. 1, 7.
- ^ Gregory 1959, p. 1.
- ^ The Nome Nugget 1959, p. 6.
- ^ a b c Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1966, p. 7.
- ^ The Nome Nugget 1960, p. 2.
- ^ a b c Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1967a, p. 5.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1964, p. 3.
- ^ Arnold 1978, pp. 109–110.
- ^ a b Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1969b, p. 5.
- ^ Tundra Times 1969a, pp. 1, 6.
- ^ a b Savoy 1970, p. 4, Section IV.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1969a, p. 5.
- ^ Tundra Times 1969a, p. 6.
- ^ a b Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1969c, p. 8.
- ^ US House Subcommittee 1968, p. 198.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1968, p. 20.
- ^ Berry 1975, p. 38.
- ^ Anchorage Times 1968, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Berry 1975, p. 49.
- ^ Anchorage Times 1968, p. 2.
- ^ US House Subcommittee 1968, pp. 198–199.
- ^ McClanahan 2006, p. 37.
- ^ a b Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1970b, p. 3.
- ^ National Journal 1970, p. 2004.
- ^ a b Berry 1975, p. 154.
- ^ Peroff 2006, p. 7.
- ^ a b Berry 1975, p. 153.
- ^ a b Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1970c, p. 1.
- ^ Tundra Times 1970, pp. 1, 6.
- ^ Berry 1975, pp. 8, 154.
- ^ Hanrahan & Gruenstein 1977, p. 93.
- ^ a b Tundra Times 1971, p. 1.
- ^ Tundra Times 1971, p. 6.
- ^ Arnold 1978, pp. 139–140.
- ^ Tundra Times 1972b, p. 1.
- ^ a b c d The Oklahoman 1972, p. 39.
- ^ a b Albuquerque Journal 1972, p. G1.
- ^ Taylor 1972, p. 157.
- ^ a b Lund 1986, p. 66.
- ^ a b Bowkett 1972, p. 1.
- ^ Tundra Times 1972a, p. 1.
- ^ a b c Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1973a, p. 1.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1973b, p. 1.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1973c, p. 2.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1973d, p. 1.
- ^ Pratt 1973, p. 1.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1974, p. 3.
- ^ Fairbanks Pioneer 1974, p. 2.
- ^ Tundra Times 1973, p. 1.
- ^ Tundra Times 1974, p. 1.
- ^ Tundra Times 1974, p. 4.
- ^ Morgan 1988, p. 223.
- ^ a b Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1975, p. 16.
- ^ Tundra Times 1976, p. 1.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1976, p. 18.
- ^ Tundra Times 1976, pp. 1, 6.
- ^ The Fort Lauderdale News 1974, p. 10C.
- ^ a b c Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1984, p. 3.
- ^ Marriage Record 1978.
- ^ a b c Anchorage Times 1984, p. 15.
- ^ Blewett 1981, p. 4.
- ^ Richards 1973, p. 9.
- ^ Lund 1986, p. 68.
- ^ Restino 2015.
Bibliography
- Arnold, Robert D. (1978). Alaska Native Land Claims. Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Native Foundation. OCLC 2155308.
- Berry, Mary Clay (1975). The Alaska Pipeline: The Politics of Oil and Native Land Claims. Bloomington, Indiana: ISBN 978-0-253-10064-1.
- Blewett, Maureen (December 17, 1981). "Native Women Get Little Recognition". Anchorage Times. Anchorage, Alaska. p. 4 – via NewsBank.(subscription required)
- Bowkett, Norma (February 9, 1972). "Need Facilities for Deaf, Blind—". Newspaperarchive.com.
- Gregory, Albro (October 3, 1959). "Mercy Plane Saves Baby". Newspapers.com.
- Hanrahan, John; Gruenstein, Peter (1977). Lost Frontier: The Marketing of Alaska (First ed.). New York, New York: ISBN 978-0-393-08804-5.
- Lund, Annabel (1986). Heartbeat: World Eskimo Indian Olympics (1st ed.). Juneau, Alaska: Fairweather Press. ISBN 978-0-9608226-2-1.
- McClanahan, Alexandra J. (2006). Alaska Native Corporations—Sakuuktugut, 'We are working incredibly hard': The Land, The Money, The History of the Alaska Claims Settlement Act of 1971 and How Alaskan Native People Are Writing an Epic Story in Cultural and Economic Development. Anchorage, Alaska: CIRI Foundation. ISBN 978-0-938227-07-6.
- Morgan, Lael (1988). Art and Eskimo Power: The Life and Times of Alaskan Howard Rock (1st ed.). Fairbanks, Alaska: Epicenter Press. ISBN 978-0-945397-02-1.
- ISBN 978-0-8061-3777-3.
- Pratt, Fred (October 3, 1973). "Elections See Upset, Runoff, Two Tight Races". Newspapers.com.
- Restino, Carey (February 27, 2015). "Alaska Women's Hall of Fame Honors Alaska Native Leader". The Arctic Sounder. Anchorage, Alaska. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- Richards, Thomas Jr. (January 10, 1973). "Outline of Claims History". Newspaperarchive.com.
- Richards, Tom (March 1984). "Laura Beltz Crockett Dies in Hawaii" (PDF). Tundra Times. Fairbanks, Alaska. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- Taylor, Theodore W. (1972). The States and Their Indian Citizens (PDF) (Report). Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. ED-087-583. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- United States House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Subcommittee on Indian Affairs (1968). Alaska Native Land Claims: Hearing, Ninetieth Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 11213, 15049, and 17129 Held July 11, 1968 (Report). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 1017241913. Serial 90-29, Report 98-181O.
- "1930 US Census: Haycock Village, Koyuk, Alaska". FamilySearch. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. December 12, 1929. p. 1B. NARA microfilm publication T626, lines 26–32. Retrieved October 2, 2022.(subscription required)
- "Beautiful Native Flies through the Air". Newspapers.com.
- "Bicentennial Brings Bergt Appointment". Newspapers.com.
- "Buckley Lauds Whaling Drama". Newspapers.com.
- "Certificate of Marriage: Susie (Native woman)/Jak Beltz". FamilySearch. Juneau, Alaska: Alaska State Archives. May 2, 1909. p. 58. Fairhaven Precinct, volume 55: 1902–1959. Retrieved October 2, 2022.(subscription required)
- "Drama Tinges Meeting on Claims between Agnew, Native Leaders". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Egan Picks Laura Bergt for Senate". Newspapers.com.
- "Eskimo Activist Dies in Hawaii". Anchorage Times. Anchorage, Alaska. March 17, 1984. p. 15 – via NewsBank.(subscription required)
- "Feasibility Probe—Study Commences on Native Arts Institute". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Former Demo Now Alaska YR President". Newspapers.com.
- "GOP Senators Reject Appointment of Bergt". Newspapers.com.
- "Hickel Airs Native Claims Plan: He Suggests U.S. Give Up Its Own Land". Anchorage Times. Anchorage, Alaska. July 11, 1968. pp. 1–2 – via NewsBank.(subscription required)
- "John Rainer". Newspapers.com.
- "Laura Beltz and Neil Bergt Are Married in Kotzebue on Wednesday". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Laura Bergt". Newspapers.com.
- "Laura Bergt Appointed Commissioner". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Laura Bergt Appointed to OMAR's Executive Group". Newspapers.com.
- "Laura Bergt Called to Hearing". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Laura Bergt Crockett". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Laura Bergt, Four Others Named to Reapportion Board". Newspapers.com.
- "Laura Bergt on Council". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Laura Bergt to Chair NCIO Meeting in Fairbanks". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Laura Mae Beltz Is Cover Girl for the August Issue of 'Holiday'". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Laura May Bergt to Coordinate 1966 Eskimo Olympics during Golden Days". Newspapers.com.
- "Little Filing Action for Local Elections". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Marriage Records: William F. Crockett/Laura Bergt". FamilySearch. Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Board of Health. September 23, 1978. certificate #7798. Retrieved October 6, 2022.(subscription required)
- "Mrs. Beltz Succumbs". Newspapers.com.
- "National Council on Indian Opportunity". ISSN 0360-4217. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- "Native Land Claims Hearing". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Natives Approve Federal Plan to Alter Role of Government". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Neil and Laura Bergt Leave; Who'll Run Eskimo Games?". Newspapers.com.
- "Off to Century City". Newspapers.com.
- "Pert Laura Bergt Captivates Los Angeles Folks During Fair". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Pert Laura Bergt to Promote Alaska at Los Angeles Fair". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Political Scene". Fairbanks Pioneer. Fairbanks, Alaska. September 13, 1974. p. 2. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Record of Deaths: Louis Reich". FamilySearch. Juneau, Alaska: Alaska State Archives. August 27, 1941. p. 186. Noatak-Kobuk Precinct, Death certificates, volume 4: 1937–1943. Retrieved October 2, 2022.(subscription required)
- "Senate Deadlocked over Laura Bergt". Newspapers.com.
- "State Indians to Aid Nixon". Newspapers.com.
- "Talented Laura Bergt—". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Twins Born to Neil Bergts". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Vice President Agnew Briefs Laura". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Villages Selected for ASHA Housing". Newspapers.com.
- "Women Are Named to Housing Board". Newspapers.com.
External links
- Bergt on Johnny Carson August 1, 1973 (She is introduced at 13:20)