Fairbanks Event – Lecture by Bill Schneider, Wednesday 12/18

The Tanana Yukon Historical Society invites the public to “On Whose Terms? Indian Chiefs and White settlement in the Tanana Valley,” a lecture by Bill Schneider.

Wednesday, December 18

7:00 p.m.

Pioneer Hall at Pioneer Park

Fairbanks

For a long period, Native residents along the Yukon River had contact with Western travelers. Those living farther south on Tanana River drainages continued to pursue much of their traditional yearly cycle. There were few Whites passing through the Tanana Valley, and no White inhabitants until the turn of the 20th Century. Until then, Native land was relatively free of competing claims.

What was the impact of this extended period of indirect contact? Did it prepare them for the eventual onslaught of gold seekers, military construction projects, trading posts, missions and competing demands for the land? How did the history of involvement with Native groups influence the government's perception of the Natives and their rights?

Schneider will suggest some answers to these questions by referencing the experiences of Chief Joseph and Chief Jarvis, whose lives were intertwined with the events and influences that mark the early years of the 20th Century.

Bill Schneider is Professor Emeritus and founding Curator of Oral History at the Alaska and Polar Regions Department, Elmer Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks. In retirement, he continues his decades-long research into the history of Alaska and Yukon.

For more information about this and other lectures sponsored by the Tanana Yukon Historical Society, please call 488-3383, or e-mail <tyhs@alaska.net>