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Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr.

Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr. was born in 1956 and is the oldest of six children of Delois (Burggraf) and Alfred "Al" Ketzler, Sr. He grew up in Nenana and Fairbanks, Alaska during the 1950s and 1960s when his parents were deeply immersed in the struggle for Alaska Native land claims and passage of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). He remembers his mother taking her children to meetings, the many visitors who passed through their home and the conversations about Native issues, land, and political strategy, and attending the first Tanana Chiefs Conference (Dena’ Nena’ Henash) held in Tanana in 1962. Bear served in the US Marine Corps and attended Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. From 1982 to 1998, he worked for the Tanana Chiefs Conference in their natural resources department, and then served as tribal administrator in Nenana. He currently volunteers with the Salvation Army in Fairbanks and supports Native youth activities in the community.

Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr. appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr.	Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr. was interviewed on April 20, 2022 by Karen Brewster at his home in Fairbanks, Alaska. Despite best efforts to be in a quiet location, by the end of the interview, Bear's household was beginning to get busy as family members returned home at the end of the day and dinnertime approached, so there is some background noise of people talking, walking, and preparing food in the kitchen. In this interview, Bear talks about the early days of the Alaska Native land claims movement in Nenana and Tanana, his parents' and grandfather's role, growing up in that political and high stress environment, and his childhood memories of and experiences with meetings, learning about the issues, and meeting key players. He also talks about his own life and career, the influence his family had on his own work in Native governance, and the effects of ANCSA and Native regional corporations on Alaska Natives.	2022-01-09	Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act	Apr 20, 2022

As a Person Present at Interview

Interview Title	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Abstract	People Present
Delois Burggraf, Interview 1	2022-01-01	Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act	Delois Burggraf was interviewed on December 7, 2021 by Karen Brewster at Delois' home in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her son, Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr., was also present during the interview and periodically chimes in with his own comments. In this first part of a three part interview, Delois talks about life in Nenana, Alaska in the early 1950s, the work of her father, Charlie Purvis, with Al Starr and her then husband, Al Ketzler, Sr., on early Alaska Native land issues, and the organization of meetings in 1962 to begin discussion about Native land claims. Delois also talks about some of the non-Native allies who helped in the early days, including LaVerne Madigan of the Association of American Indian Affairs, and Kay Hitchcock and Sandy Jensen of Fairbanks.	Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr.
Delois Burggraf, Interview 2	2022-01-02	Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act	This is a continuation of the interview with Delois Burggraf on December 13, 2021 by Karen Brewster at Delois' home in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her son, Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr., was also present during the interview and periodically chimes in with his own comments. In this second part of a three part interview, Delois talks about the early days of the Native land claims movement in Nenana and Tanana in the early 1960s, and other Native land issues that were occurring around the state that led up to it. She discusses the connections between Alaska Natives and non-Natives, finding allies and building trust, and efforts made to gain support from churches. She also talks about how important individual people were to the movement, the role of her parents, Charlie and Dorothea Purvis, the courage it took for Alaska Natives to speak out, the stress they suffered, and the lack of appreciation for some of these early leaders. She also comments on the results of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.	Alfred "Bear" Ketzler, Jr.