Ethel Ross Oliver collection, 1914-1988.
Title:
Ethel Ross Oliver collection, 1914-1988.
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
2.5 cubic feet.
Abstract:
The Ethel Ross Oliver collection consists of correspondence, journals, manuscripts and publications, World War II related materials, newspaper clippings, photographs and other materials relating to Ethel Ross Oliver's life and work in Alaska. Included in the collection is a series of clippings dealing with World War II and its effects on Natives of southwestern Alaska, as well as correspondence relating to property claims of Aleuts who had been relocated by the U.S. government or taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II. The collection also contains correspondence between Oliver and the Nunamiut of Anaktuvuk Pass, whom Oliver met when she took the 1950 census in that village, including a large section of correspondence between Oliver and community leader Simon Paneak. Additionally, the collection includes journals and newspaper columns by Paneak.
Biographical/Historical Data:
Ethel Ross Oliver came to Alaska with her first husband. After her husband's death, Oliver returned to school, received her degree in education and began her career as a teacher. In 1943, Oliver met, and later married, Simeon "Nutchuk" Oliver, an Aleut writer. In 1946 the couple moved to Atka village, in the Aleutian Islands, where Ethel taught school and Simeon acted as liaison between the government and the people of the village. The population of Atka included Aleuts who had been relocated by the U.S. government or held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II. In 1950, Ethel Ross Oliver served as a federal census taker for the Arctic region of Alaska. Her duties took her among the inland Eskimos of Anaktuvuk Pass known as the Nunamiut. After leaving Anaktuvuk Pass, Oliver corresponded Simon Paneak, a Nunamiut leader, as well as others from the area. Oliver continued to be involved in education, helping draft the first minimum wage law for Alaska teachers. She retired to Eugene, Oregon in 1963 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Public Service from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1978.
Organization & Arrangement:
Arranged in seven series: I Correspondence, 1914-1974; II Journals, 1945-1956; III Manuscripts and publications, 1937-1988; IV World War II, 1941-1954; V Miscellaneous; VI Clippings; VII Photographs.