University of Alaska Anchorage Records
Guide to the Alaska Native Health Career Program records
1971-1985
Collection number: UAA-0094.
Creating office: UAA. Alaska Native Health Career Program records.
Series title: UAA. Alaska Native Health Career Program records.
Dates: 1971-1985.
Volume of series: 2.7 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are primarily in English with some materials in Inupiaq and Yup’ik.
Series summary: Records of program that provided support and outreach to Alaska Native high school and college students interested in the health field.
Administrative history:
In 1974, the Alaska Federation of Natives created the Alaska Native Health Career (ANHC) Program in response to an Alaska Native Health Care Policy Statement adopted by representatives of twelve Native regions at a Rural Health Seminar. The statement highlighted the importance of promoting the health and well-being of Native people by establishing the Native operation and management of the health care system which services them. In order to do so, ANHC Program aimed to increase Alaska Native involvement in health career professions by providing culturally relevant information, information about health careers, financial aid, and applications, student advising, and advocacy for tutoring and traineeship. A training program for college students in rural Alaska and the Della Keats Summer Enrichment Program for high school were also created. Also in 1976-1977, the ANHC Program selected and funded ANHC students to participate in a University of Washington’s School of Medicine WAMI workshop in Fairbanks. In addition to the workshop, the ANHC Program utilized WAMI Minority Recruitment Office pamphlets and videocassettes to recruit and train students. The Alaska Native Health Career Program became a part Rural Education, CCREE (Community College and Rural Education Extension), University of Alaska and maintained an advisory board of AFN members in 1979.
Series description:
This collection contains three types of records: organizational records, reports and papers of associated organizations, and training and recruitment films. The first group of records is organizational records which include progress reports on the organization and the Della Keats Program, Della Keats annual reports, career catalogs, student newsletters, program brochures, and ANHC Program newsletters. The second group contains reports and papers of associated organizations including Alaska Federation of Natives, Alaska Methodist University, Alaska Native Foundation, Alaska Native Health Board, Alaska Native Medical Center, Cook Inlet Region, Inc., Cook Inlet Native Association, and the University of Washington. The fourth group contains training and recruitment audio visual media produced for or used by the ANHC Program such as A Taste of Medicine, Why Not Medicine, video tapes of Cody Bear Paw, Health Career Opportunities Program audio cassettes, University of Washington WAMI recruitment and training films, and the Alaska Federation of Natives Health Career Program.
Arrangement: The collection is divided into three groups: organizational papers, reports and papers of associated organizations, and training and recruitment films and audio. Organizational papers and training and recruitment films and audio are divided by material type. Reports and papers of associated organizations are in alphabetical order by the organization.
Digitized copies: Select audio cassettes, films, and videos have been digitized, some of which are available on Alaska’s Digital Archives. Other digitized copies of collection materials are not available online, however they are available for use in the Archives Research Room. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Digitization was made possible by a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Use restrictions: Elements of this collection contain personally identifiable information. Researchers using the collection may not disseminate this information in any use of the materials. Some materials are restricted due to culturally sensitive materials. Consult the Archives for more information.
Preferred citation: UAA. Alaska Native Health Career Program records, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Current records: For current records related to the Della Keats Summer Enrichment contact UAA’S WWAMI Biomedical Program.
Custodial history: This collection was presented to the Archives by Katherine Johnson, Director of Alaska Native Health Career Program, in 1986.
Processing information: This collection was arranged and described in 1995 and assigned the collection number HMC-0022. In 2011, Mariecris Gatlabayan updated finding aid format, classified the collection as a university record, and assigned it the collection number UAA-0094. Becky Butler provided additional description when materials were digitized in 2019.
Container list:
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 1/1-1/13 | Organizational records | 1974-1986 |
| 1/14-1/47 | Reports and publications of associated organizations | 1972-1985 |
| 2/1-3/15 | Training and recruitment films and audio | 1977-1978 |
| 2/1 | VHS tape: “Academic Advising: the Minority Key.” A film instructing academic advisers in supporting minority students studying health sciences. The video includes a panel with John Eagleday (Seattle Indian Center), Daniel Ursic (University of Washington advisor), Lilliantyne Fields (UW faculty), Raymond Lewis (student at UW), and Dr. Zenaido Camacho (dean for students at UW School of Medicine). | 1977-1978 |
| 2/2 | VHS tape: duplicate of 2/1 | 1977-1978 |
| 2/3 | VHS tape: “Alaska Careers Exploration Program #5 Health.” A video detailing the health careers available in Alaska. Careers highlighted include that of a physician, a health administrator, a medical technologist, a registered nurse, and a dental assistant. | 1978 |
| 2/4 | VHS tape:”Caribou Cutback Affects Food Choice.” A video presentation by nutritionists, community health aides, and traditional healers on a caribou shortage, the impact of the shortage on Alaska Native life and culture, and possible food alternatives. It was filmed in Kotzebue. The video features Della Keats, Nellie Griest (Shungnak), Rose Horner (Kobuk), Emma Ramoth (Selawik), Betsy Nobmann, Lillian Johnson, Irma Hunnicutt, and Nora Booth. | 1976 |
| 2/5 | VHS tape: “The Alaska Federation of Natives Health Careers Program Presents Cody Bearpaw.” A video presentation featuring a Cree folk singer. Bearpaw sings two songs and discusses violence at his past performances, Native identity and unification, the importance of education, and his experience in veterinarian school. | undated |
| 2/6-9 | VHS tapes: duplicates of 2/5 | undated |
| 2/10 | VHS tape: “WAMI, Minority Counseling: A Friend in Need.” Millie Russell (director of the Pre-professional Program for Minorities in Health Sciences at the University of Washington), Dr. Zenaido Camacho (dean of students at UW School of Medicine), Bob Wright (high school science teacher), and Ed Lew (high school counselor) discuss the importance of extra support for minority students pursuing health science degrees, how to prepare minority high school students for college, and what resources and techniques counselors can use to recruit and retain minorities in the health sciences. | 1977 |
| 2/11 | VHS tape: “WAMI, Fairbanks Satellite Admissions.” The video filmed a meeting of the Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho medical school program admissions’ counselors in Seattle. They discuss the use of students on the admissions committee, admissions interviews, interviews by satellite, and the reasons behind the low rates of African-American, Alaska Native, and Native American students completing their applications. | 1977 December 14 |
| 2/12 | “Dental Recruitment in Alaska, Linda DeWitt.” RESTRICTED: Dental and hypnosis procedures are performed on real patients. Only first names are used, but patient faces are clear. This video depicts dental student Kenneth Cameron and other unnamed doctors and patients explaining dental careers, describing dental exams and procedures, and demonstrating medical hypnosis. Content warning: footage depicts oral injections of anesthetic. | undated |
| 2/13 | “WAMI, A Successful Student: How Parents Can Help.”This video presentation depicts Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde (associate dean at the University of Washington School of Nursing) Millie Russell (director of the Pre-professional Program for Minorities in Health Sciences at UW), Mike Costellano (Office of Minority Affairs at UW), Celia Longoria (Idaho Health Department), and Van Chase (associate faculty and counselor for minorities at UW) discuss the importance of parental support for minority students pursuing health careers and describing the educational paths and scholarships available. | 1978 |
| 2/14 | VHS tape: duplicate of 2/13 | 1978 |
| 2/15 | VHS tape: Duplicate clip of shaman dances used in 3/7. | undated |
| 3/1 | VHS tape: VHS tape: “’You Can Do It, We Can Help,’ UW Instructional Media Services.” This video presentation depicts Dr. Zenaido Camacho (dean of students at UW School of Medicine), Millie Russell (director of the Preprofessional Program for Minorities in Health Sciences at UW), Ed Lew (high school counselor), Rosse Norris (UW health career planner), Dr. J.C. Lara (assistant professor of microbiology at UW), and Donna Lavellie (physical therapy student at UW) discussing the obstacles and ways to overcome them in preparing for, applying to, and completing a health science degree as a minority student. | 1978 |
| 3/2 | VHS tape: “Ted Mala, pre-med student.” Unedited video depicting a woman interviewing Ted Mala (Kotzebue) about his experience as a minority health science student. He discusses the education he needed to get into medical school, his reason for becoming a doctor, the need for Alaskan doctors, and the difficulties he faced in medical school. | 1978 |
| 3/3-5 | VHS tape: duplicate of 2/5. | undated |
| 3/6 | VHS tape: “Community Health Medics and Dental Exams in Rural Alaska.” RESTRICTED: Dental procedures are conducted on patients with recognizable features; no patient names are revealed. Video recording of Henry Brown (community health medic in Aniak) operating a ham radio to contact health clinics in Yukon-Koyukon region and of patients receiving dental exams. | circa 1975 |
| 3/7 | VHS tape: “It Can Be Done.” RESTRICTED: Culturally significant shaman dances are shown. A video produced by the Alaska Federation of Natives Health Career Development Program depicting shaman dances by George Jim and Laird Jones and interviews with Alaska Native students pursuing health careers. Interviewees include Jeff Gonnason, Ken Cameron, Henry Brown, Mary Nanuwak, and Ted Mala. | circa 1975 |
| 3/8 | VHS tape: “Gerry Ivey, Health Admin.” An unedited video interview of Gerry Ivey, the executive officer for the Alaska Area Native Health Service. Ivey describes his job, attributes that make a successful health administrator, and the education required to be a health administrator. | circa 1975 |
| 3/9 | VHS tape: “Interview with Ken Cameron.” A video interview of Ken Cameron, a dental student in Sitka, Alaska. He describes how he prepared for college and dental school, the work he does day-to-day, the need for Alaskan dentists, and the attributes that make a successful dentist. | circa 1975 |
| 3/10 | VHS tape: “Interview with Jeff Gonnason.” RESTRICTED: Patient first names are used during eye exams; faces are also visible. A video depicting eye exams and an interview with an optometry student at Pacific University in Oregon. Jeff Gonnason (Ketchikan) describes the education required to be an optometrist, the day-to-day job of an optometrist, and the versatility of a health science degree. | circa 1975 |
| 3/11-14 | Audio cassette tapes: Audio recording of a Health Careers Opportunities presentation by Diane Harborson and an unidentified man. Topics discussed include: Section 787 of the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1976, grant application processes, grant reporting, the Special Health Career Opportunity Grant (SHCOG) Program, and instructions for receiving federal funding for a health career education. | circa 1977 |
| Film 1 | Film reel: “Why Not Medicine?” Film produced by the Alaska Federation of Natives’ Alaska Native Health Career Program to promote health careers for Alaska Natives. Film footage depicts interviews with elders explaining the need for Alaska Native health professionals and with Alaska Natives in health careers, a dramatization of a boy leaving his village to visit a hospital, and pre-medical student Henry Brown (Mountain Village) conducting health examinations in Yup’ik and visiting a cemetery. | 1977 July 19 |
| Film 3 | Film reel:”A Taste of Medicine.” Film produced by the Alaska Federation of Natives’ Alaska Native Health Career Program. Film footage depicts a fictional Alaska Native classroom in which two youths learn about traditional medicine, community health aides, visiting hospitals outside of the village, and the importance of going to the dentist and the optometrist. | circa 1977 |