Henry Jackson Sr.: Interview Outline: Section 7 Squirrel River history Tape Reference Number: H2002-09-01 Henry Jackson Sr. talks with Bill Schneider, Hazel Apok, and Eileen Devinney in Kiana, Alaska on February 27, 2002.

Bill Schneider: Let's talk about Squirrel River (map) a little bit. Do you remember some of the history up there?

Henry Jackson, Sr.: Well, Squirrel River is nice country, clean country up there. People lived up there all their lives, I guess, before we were -- before we come around, you know. Lots of old igloos up there, every place. Old places, where they live, you know. Sod houses. Hardly anybody up there, nobody up there now. Just my house, one house. Well, Park Ser -- I mean, what's his name?

Eileen Devinney: BLM, I think.

Hazel Apok: Ray Barr?

Henry Jackson, Sr.: Who built that -- a -- a -- a school teacher tried to build a house there. You know, below Omar River. It's -- it's somebody. But NANA, NANA owns it now, I guess. I think it's never been used for a long time. Occasionally, I guess.

Bill Schneider: But, you have a place about 40 miles up there?

Henry Jackson, Sr.: Yeah. I have a house up there, camp. Camp house.

Hazel Apok: I flew -- I flew over there that way this summer.

Henry Jackson, Sr.: Going to Noatak, you can fly over it.

Hazel Apok: Yeah, fly right over it, and lots of bears.

Henry Jackson, Sr.: Yeah.

Hazel Apok: Lots of salmon.

Henry Jackson, Sr.: Bear country up there. One got into my house one time and messed up inside the house, you know. He eat everything what he could find. He even - that starting fluid, mosquito dope. I think it was starting fluid. He busted it and -- it doesn't taste too good, I guess.

Hazel Apok: Did you ever -- didn't you ever hear Nasraqpalik talk about they -- our ancestors, those were tribal warring grounds back there?

Henry Jackson, Sr.: Oh, yeah.

Hazel Apok: They used to have wars.

Henry Jackson, Sr.: From here it's about 8 or 9 miles just inside the slough between Noatak and Kiana, fought wars there. And I think bad man comes in here. There was two of them fellows [in a storm] live further up the river, Squirrel River. And these Kiana people lived under -- under the ground, you know, underground. And they had a tunnel going out, tunnel out towards the river, you know. And these guys were back here watching them, Noatak people. And they send two guys go up through there and then go -- go get those little two guys, you know. And they did. They went out and went up there. And next day I think those two-- little two guys coming, nobody can hit them, you know. I think they -- they won the war at -- Kiana did. I don't like to talk about it either myself.

Hazel Apok: No. No.

Henry Jackson, Sr.: Because some young, young, young fellows in Noatak, they don't like to hear too much of it you know.

Hazel Apok: It's like taboo. Like, you know. You -- you hear about it once and that's it, you know, you're not supposed to dwell on it or talk about it.

Henry Jackson, Sr.: 'Cause, early days people up there among themselves they fight like that. Selawik and Buckland. They fight like that, too. Just like Noatak and Kiana.

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