Laura Bergt

{{Short description|Native American political activist (1940–1984)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Laura Bergt

| image = Laura Bergt headshot in fur coat.jpg

| alt = Portrait of a Native American woman with short hair wearing a parka with fur around the neck and decorative cuffs which are visible because her hands are raised to her chin.

| caption = Bergt in 1969

| birth_name = Laura Mae Beltz

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1940|10|01}}

| birth_place = Candle, Territory of Alaska, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|03|14|1940|10|01}}

| death_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

| nationality =

| other_names = {{cslist|Laura Beltz Bergt|Laura Mae Bergt|Laura Bergt Crockett}}

| occupation = {{cslist|Spokeswoman|political and Native rights activist}}

| years_active = 1960–1977

| known_for =

| notable_works =

}}

Laura Mae Bergt ({{nee|Beltz}}; October 1, 1940 – March 14, 1984) was an Iñupiaq athlete, model, politician, and activist for the Iñupiat and other Indigenous Alaskans. Born in the Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska to bi-racial parents, she grew up in Nome and Kotzebue before attending high school in Sitka. Involved in the Native Olympic movement, she was both a nine-times winner of the Arctic Circle blanket toss event and served as chair of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics in 1966. She worked as a promoter for the new state of Alaska attending trade shows and making marketing appearances as a spokeswoman and guest on radio and television programs. From the 1960s, she worked in various policy positions at the tribal, local, state, and national level to address issues like disability, education, employment opportunities, housing, and poverty, and promoting the rights of Indigenous people.

In 1968, Bergt testified before the United States House of Representatives on the importance of settling Native claims to provide adequate funding for development of programs to address tribal issues and protect Indigenous hunting and fishing rights. Her personal relationship with Vice President Spiro Agnew and her appointment in 1970 to the National Council on Indian Opportunity were pivotal in obtaining passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971. In 1972, she was appointed by President Richard Nixon to serve on a national policy advisory committee of Indigenous leaders, and in 1975 participated on the 15-member National Health Advisory Committee. She also was commissioner of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board from 1976 to 1978 and was a member of President Gerald Ford's United States Bicentennial Council.

At the state level, Bergt was instrumental in pressing for the creation of schools to teach children with disabilities and preserve Native Arts. She served on various housing and rural development initiatives and chaired the World Eskimo Indian Olympics Committee in 1966 and 1967. She was elected in 1973 to a term on the Borough Assembly of the Fairbanks City Council. The sophomore-junior girls' dormitory at her alma mater, Mt. Edgecumbe High School, is named in her honor and she was the inaugural recipient of the Frank Whaley Award, which recognizes outstanding service to the Eskimo Olympics. In 2015, she was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Laura Mae Beltz, whose Iñupiat name was "Mumiak",{{sfn|Tundra Times|1969b|p=3}} was born on October 1, 1940, in Candle, Alaska, to Iñupiat-German parents, Fredrica "Rica" (née Reich) and Bert Beltz.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}} Her maternal grandmother, Mamie was a First Nations Canadian, who married Louis Reich, a German whaler. They operated a trading post in Kotzebue.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}}{{sfn|Death Record|1941|p=186}} Her paternal grandmother, Susie was a Native Alaskan, who married a Pennsylvania Dutch miner, John Skyles "Jack" Beltz.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}}{{sfn|US Census|1930|p=1B}}{{sfn|Marriage Certificate|1909|p=56}} Her father was a bush pilot and a brother of Alaska Territorial Senator William Beltz.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1961|p=7}} Beltz grew up in Nome and Kotzebue, where she attended elementary school.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}} She graduated from Mt. Edgecumbe Boarding School in Sitka.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}

Career

=Early career, promoting Alaska (1957–1969)=

After graduation, Beltz worked as a secretary to the Kotzebue station manager of Alaska Airlines, Neil Bergt. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, but raised and schooled in Anchorage before becoming a pilot.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967b|p=9}} The couple married on November 5, 1958, in Kotzebue{{sfn|The Nome Nugget|1958|p=6}} and had their daughter Debra Lynne in October 1959.{{sfn|Gregory|1959|pp=1, 7}} They lived briefly in Point Barrow before relocating to Nome.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967b|p=9}}{{sfn|Gregory|1959|p=1}} In August 1959, Bergt appeared on the cover of Holiday promoting a featured article in the magazine focusing on the recent Statehood of Alaska.{{sfn|The Nome Nugget|1959|p=6}} The exposure gave her international recognition and she was invited for several guest appearances on television, including on Lowell Thomas' High Adventure series, The Donald O'Connor Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1966|p=7}} In October 1960, she gave birth to twins, Michael Alan and Karen Gail, in Fairbanks{{sfn|The Nome Nugget|1960|p=2}} and their youngest son, Bryan was born in 1965.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}} That year, Neil became a partner in Interior Airways, where Bergt worked part time as a stewardess.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967b|p=9}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967a|p=5}}

File:Laura Bergt with harpoon and bathing suit.jpg

In 1964, Bergt was elected as the national committeewoman from Alaska for the Young Republicans on which she served until 1966.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1964|p=3}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1966|p=7}} She also served as an officer on the newly founded Cook Inlet Native Association.{{sfn|Arnold|1978|pp=109–110}} She worked as a secretary for the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce and, in 1967, was appointed by the chamber to serve as the chair of the coordinating committee for the World Eskimo Indian Olympics.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967a|p=5}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1966|p=7}} Bergt was a competitor in the games, having won the blanket toss nine times by 1969.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1969b|p=5}} She was reappointed as chair in 1967 and simultaneously appointed by Governor Walter Hickel to serve on the Native Claims Task Force and the special task force on Indigenous housing issues.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967a|p=5}} In 1967, the family relocated from Fairbanks to Anchorage, when Neil took over the management of the office there for Interior Airways.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967b|p=9}}

From 1968, Bergt worked with the tourism board, the Alaska Business Council, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, among other organizations, to promote the state, traveling to Costa Mesa, Century City, and Los Angeles, California, for the annual Alaska Travel and Trade Fair.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1969b|p=5}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}} At these events, she made public appearances at civic and fraternal gatherings, broadcast on television and radio, demonstrated Native sporting and skill events, and modeled traditional fashion and arts and crafts.{{sfn|Tundra Times|1969a|pp=1, 6}} She promoted Alaskan foods and culture, but also talked about issues for Native Alaskans such as the high mortality rates; ecology and environmental protection; housing struggles including the lack of electricity, sanitation, and running water; and limited educational opportunities.{{sfn|Savoy|1970|p=4, Section IV}} In 1969, the Bergts moved back to Fairbanks, when Neil was promoted to president of Interior Airways.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1969a|p=5}} Bergt worked as the office manager for the Alaska Federation of Natives and secretary to Emil Notti, president of the federation. She also worked for the Tundra Times and served as a director on the newspaper.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Tundra Times|1969a|p=6}} In March 1970, she attended Expo '70 in Japan to promote Alaska.{{sfn|Savoy|1970|p=4, Section IV}}

=Native affairs, land claims (1968–1972)=

File:C. D. Ward, Laura Bergt, Robert Robertson in Vice President's office.jpg

In 1968, Bergt served as a member of the State Tourism Advisory Board, was on the Alaska state Committee on Children and Youth, Health, and Welfare (state chapter for the White House Conference on Children and Youth), and was appointed to the Alaska State Housing Authority Board.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1969c|p=8}}{{sfn|US House Subcommittee|1968|p=198}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}} The board was responsible for managing the joint state-federal program to improve housing in rural villages.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1969c|p=8}} The same year, she was part of the first delegation to appear before the United States House's Subcommittee on Indian Affairs regarding settlement between the Indian Claims Commission and Native demands.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1968|p=20}} The claims resulted from disputes over ownership and equitable settlement being paid by the state and federal governments for taking traditional Native land.{{sfn|Berry|1975|p=38}} The settlement was critical, as the Natives were asking for monetary amounts to be used for capital development, the creation of villages of their own, and protection of their hunting and fishing rights on federal lands.{{sfn|Anchorage Times|1968|pp=1–2}} Since 1966, Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior, had halted any state land patents, impacting oil and gas leases proposed for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, until Native claims were settled.{{sfn|Berry|1975|p=49}} For the state, this meant a substantial loss of revenues.{{sfn|Anchorage Times|1968|p=2}} In her testimony, Bergt stressed that despite government programs, there were inadequate medical facilities and health services, difficulties of communication with remote villages, poor housing and sanitation, and extreme poverty among Indigenous people.{{sfn|US House Subcommittee|1968|pp=198–199}} She also testified in 1969 before the subcommittee calling for the creation of tribal corporations which would allow Native people to control and manage their own development and resources.{{sfn|McClanahan|2006|p=37}}

Bergt was invited to attend the inauguration of President Richard Nixon, who named her to join the National Council on Indian Opportunity (NCIO) in August 1970 for a two-year term.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970b|p=3}}{{sfn|National Journal|1970|p=2004}} The NCIO was chaired by Vice President Spiro Agnew, whom she had met in 1968 during his trip campaigning in Alaska.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970b|p=3}}{{sfn|Berry|1975|p=154}} That year, the Mt. Edgecumbe Boarding School named the sophomore-junior girls' dormitory in her honor.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}} On July 8, 1970, Nixon delivered a speech reversing the government policy of tribal termination in favor of allowing their self-determination.{{sfn|Peroff|2006|p=7}}{{sfn|Berry|1975|p=153}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970c|p=1}} Negotiations between the NCIO and the government produced seven bills by October to modify the federal and state roles with regard to Native people. One allowed Native authorities to sue the federal government if their interests in natural resources were damaged or jeopardized by governmental actions. Another permitted federal lending to tribal authorities, while one bill gave tribes the ability to manage federal programs and services, such as health, welfare and education projects for their communities. Two others allowed Indigenous people to transfer their civil service status if they changed from federal to tribal programs and to control livestock which trespassed on their lands.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970c|p=1}}{{sfn|Tundra Times|1970|pp=1, 6}} The speech also resulted in planning a conference to discuss the bills by the National Congress of American Indians in March 1971 in Kansas City, Missouri.{{sfn|Berry|1975|p=153}}

File:Spiro Agnew gets nose kiss from Laura Bergt.jpg

During the Kansas City conference, Bergt taught Agnew how to Eskimo kiss. The kiss was widely publicized, and Tlingit leader, John Borbridge Jr watching her, said, "each one of those kisses was worth a million acres" for Native Alaskans.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Berry|1975|pp=8, 154}}{{sfn|Hanrahan|Gruenstein|1977|p=93}} Bergt also urged Agnew to meet with Native leaders and the officials of the Interior Department, which was agreed would be held on March 12.{{sfn|Berry|1975|p=154}}{{sfn|Tundra Times|1971|p=1}} Among those present were Agnew; Bergt; Raymond C. Christiansen, an Alaska State Senator; Al Ketzler, chair of the Tanana Chiefs Conference; Don Wright, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives; Fred Bracken, legal counsel for the Department of the Interior; Harrison Loesch, assistant Interior secretary; and Boyd Rasmussen, representing the Bureau of Land Management.{{sfn|Tundra Times|1971|p=1}} From the Native perspective, according to Bergt, the meeting marked a turning-point in negotiations, as thereafter government authorities allowed their counsel to participate in the drafting of bills and gained a clear understanding of their demands for land and compensation.{{sfn|Tundra Times|1971|p=6}} The American Indian Movement, pressure from oil companies, and on-going Native advocacy, resulted in the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971.{{sfn|Arnold|1978|pp=139–140}} Bergt used her personal relationship with Agnew to continue pressing for focus on funding for educational training initiatives of Indigenous people during the post-settlement period.{{sfn|Tundra Times|1972b|p=1}}

=Later career (1972–1983)=

After her two-year appointment to the NCIO expired, Nixon asked her to serve on a six-member national committee of Indigenous leaders, which included Frank Belvin (Choctaw) of Muskogee, Oklahoma;{{sfn|The Oklahoman|1972|p=39}}{{sfn|Albuquerque Journal|1972|p=G1}} Harold Shunck (Yankton-Sioux) of Rapid City, South Dakota;{{sfn|The Oklahoman|1972|p=39}}{{sfn|Taylor|1972|p=157}} Neal McCaleb (Chickasaw) of Edmond, Oklahoma; John C. Rainer (Taos Pueblo) of Albuquerque, New Mexico;{{sfn|The Oklahoman|1972|p=39}}{{sfn|Albuquerque Journal|1972|p=G1}} and John Seneca (Seneca) of Washington, D.C. The advisory board was to focus on prioritizing and advising Nixon of the needs of Native Americans.{{sfn|The Oklahoman|1972|p=39}} Among Bergt's many local initiatives were advocacy for textile and animal husbandry training, housing proposals, and employment of Native Alaskans on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.{{sfn|Lund|1986|p=66}} She also worked on initiatives to promote care for children with disabilities, including provision of housing and rehabilitation services.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a|p=5}} In 1972, she began pushing the legislature to fund schools for children with special physical and mental needs, as there were no such facilities in the state.{{sfn|Bowkett|1972|p=1}} She advocated for establishing three regional schools to provide specialized education for children who had learning disabilities or were blind or deaf.{{sfn|Bowkett|1972|p=1}} She was called to a hearing on the matter and Governor William Egan appointed her to serve on the Hard-of-Hearing Task Force.{{sfn|Tundra Times|1972a|p=1}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973a|p=1}} He also selected her as a member of the Rural Affairs Commission.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973a|p=1}}

In March 1973, Bergt was nominated by Egan to fill the vacated seat of Don Young in the Alaska Senate.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973a|p=1}} Party members refused to endorse her candidacy, rejecting her because the appointment did not follow established protocols of coming from the prospective list supplied by the Fairbanks Republican District Committee.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973b|p=1}} After the initial rejection, Egan resubmitted her name to fill the seat and the Senate rejected the appointment a second time.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973c|p=2}} In May, Egan appointed Bergt to serve on the Reapportionment Board, which had been ordered by the Alaska Supreme Court to establish a permanent redistricting plan in accordance with the state constitution.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973d|p=1}} Bergt was elected to serve in October 1973 on the Fairbanks City Council's Borough Assembly representing the North Star Borough.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Pratt|1973|p=1}} She did not seek re-election when her three-year term on the Borough Assembly expired.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1974|p=3}}{{sfn|''Fairbanks Pioneer|1974|p=2}}

Bergt was selected in 1973, as part of the Board of Regents for the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Tundra Times|1973|p=1}} In 1974, she began working for the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Board on a study to determine the feasibility of establishing an arts institute for Alaska Natives. Also on the committee were Mary Jane Fate and author Thomas Richards, Jr.{{sfn|Tundra Times|1974|p=1}} They traveled throughout the state to evaluate if cultural preservation should focus on traditional or contemporary arts, possible locations for a facility and student housing options, and whether curricula should include courses on marketing and technological training as well.{{sfn|Tundra Times|1974|p=4}} With the assistance of Howard Rock of the Tundra Times, the committee was able to secure federal funds to establish the Institute of Alaska Native Arts.{{sfn|Morgan|1988|p=223}}

In 1975, Bergt was appointed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Caspar Weinberger to serve on the 15-member National Health Advisory Committee.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1975|p=16}} That year, she was also named by President Gerald Ford to serve on the United States Bicentennial Council to plan the 1976 celebrations in honor of the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1975|p=16}} She was selected in May 1976 for a two-year term as the commissioner of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Tundra Times|1976|p=1}} In December, she was appointed to the executive committee of Organization for the Management of Alaska's Resources.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1976|p=18}}

In her later life, Bergt continued to work with the State Tourism Advisory Board, served on the boards of many organizations, and made numerous public appearances.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|Tundra Times|1976|pp=1, 6}} She appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson three times,{{sfn|Richards|1984}} and on one memorable 1973 episode she presented Carson with an oosik, the reproductive organ of a male walrus, causing stunned silence from Carson and much amusement for the audience.{{sfn|Lund|1986|p=66}} She also took New York Senator James L. Buckley on a whaling expedition to Point Hope and made numerous appearances with activist Mary Jane Fate.{{sfn|Richards|1984}}{{sfn|The Fort Lauderdale News|1974|p=10C}} The Bergts divorced in 1977, and the following year on September 23, she married a Hawaiian attorney, William Crockett.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1984|p=3}}{{sfn|Marriage Record|1978}} Their marriage lasted two years and marked a point after which she usually lived in Hawaii during the winter and in Alaska during the summer.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1984|p=3}}

Death and legacy

Laura Bergt Crockett died on March 14, 1984, in Honolulu from kidney failure.{{sfn|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1984|p=3}}{{sfn|Anchorage Times|1984|p=15}} Her remains were cremated, and a service was held on March 25 at the Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage.{{sfn|Anchorage Times|1984|p=15}} She is widely remembered for facilitating the discussions which resulted in the drafting and settlement of the Alaskan land claims.{{sfn|Anchorage Times|1984|p=15}}{{sfn|Blewett|1981|p=4}} Richards wrote in 1973, that the Alaska Federation of Natives and its representatives struggled to gain consideration of their land claims for years. He credited the appointment of Bergt to the National Council on Indian Opportunity as the catalyst for overcoming differences between Native leaders and convincing the Nixon administration to support their claims in 1971.{{sfn|Richards|1973|p=9}} In 1984, she was posthumously bestowed the inaugural Frank Whaley Award of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, which honors outstanding contributions to the organization.{{sfn|Lund|1986|p=68}} In 2015, she was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to the state.{{sfn|Restino|2015}}

References

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

{{cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Robert D. |title=Alaska Native Land Claims |url=https://archive.org/details/alaskanativeland0000arno/page/109/mode/1up |date=1978 |publisher=Alaska Native Foundation |location=Anchorage, Alaska |oclc=2155308}}
{{cite book |last1=Berry |first1=Mary Clay |title=The Alaska Pipeline: The Politics of Oil and Native Land Claims |url=https://archive.org/details/alaskapipelinepo00berr/page/154/mode/1up |date=1975 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=978-0-253-10064-1}}
{{cite news |last1=Blewett |first1=Maureen |title=Native Women Get Little Recognition |work=Anchorage Times |date=December 17, 1981 |location=Anchorage, Alaska |page=4 |via=NewsBank}}{{subscription required}}
{{cite news |last1=Bowkett |first1=Norma |title=Need Facilities for Deaf, Blind— |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-feb-09-1972-3495545/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=February 9, 1972 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |pages=[https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-feb-09-1972-3495545/ 1], [https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-feb-09-1972-3495554/ 6] |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |last1=Gregory |first1=Albro |title=Mercy Plane Saves Baby |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110583079/pt-1/ |access-date=October 2, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=October 3, 1959 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110583079/pt-1/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110583104/pt-2/ 7] |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite book |last1=Hanrahan |first1=John |last2=Gruenstein |first2=Peter |title=Lost Frontier: The Marketing of Alaska |url=https://archive.org/details/lostfrontiermark00hanr/page/93/mode/1up |date=1977 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-393-08804-5 |edition=First}}
{{cite book |last1=Lund |first1=Annabel |title=Heartbeat: World Eskimo Indian Olympics |url=https://archive.org/details/heartbeatworldes0000lund/page/66/mode/1up |date=1986 |edition=1st |publisher=Fairweather Press |location=Juneau, Alaska |isbn=978-0-9608226-2-1}}
{{cite book |last1=McClanahan |first1=Alexandra J. |title=Alaska Native Corporations—Sakuuktugut, 'We are working incredibly hard': The Land, The Money, The History of the Alaska Claims Settlement Act of 1971 and How Alaskan Native People Are Writing an Epic Story in Cultural and Economic Development |url=https://archive.org/details/alaskanativecorp0000mccl/page/37/mode/1up |date=2006 |publisher=CIRI Foundation |location=Anchorage, Alaska |isbn=978-0-938227-07-6}}
{{cite book |last1=Morgan |first1=Lael |title=Art and Eskimo Power: The Life and Times of Alaskan Howard Rock |url=https://archive.org/details/arteskimopowerli0000morg/page/223/mode/1up |date=1988 |edition=1st |publisher=Epicenter Press |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |isbn=978-0-945397-02-1}}
{{cite book |last1=Peroff |first1=Nicholas C. |author-link=Nicholas Peroff |title=Menominee Drums: Tribal Termination and Restoration, 1954-1974 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9iiiCmDGDr4C&pg=PA7 |date=2006 |edition=Pbk. |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman, Oklahoma |isbn=978-0-8061-3777-3}}
{{cite news |last1=Pratt |first1=Fred |title=Elections See Upset, Runoff, Two Tight Races |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110764457/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 5, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=October 3, 1973 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |last1=Restino |first1=Carey |title=Alaska Women's Hall of Fame Honors Alaska Native Leader |url=http://www.thearcticsounder.com/article/1509alaska_womens_hall_of_fame_honors_alaska |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=The Arctic Sounder |date=February 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002193431/http://www.thearcticsounder.com/article/1509alaska_womens_hall_of_fame_honors_alaska |archive-date=October 2, 2022 |location=Anchorage, Alaska |url-status=live}}
{{cite news |last1=Richards |first1=Thomas Jr. |title=Outline of Claims History |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-jan-10-1973-3495486/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=January 10, 1973 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=93 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |last1=Richards |first1=Tom |title=Laura Beltz Crockett Dies in Hawaii |url=http://ttip.tuzzy.org/collect/ttimes/index/assoc/HASH0112/626a4cb3.dir/doc4.pdf |access-date=October 2, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=March 1984 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705060139/http://ttip.tuzzy.org/collect/ttimes/index/assoc/HASH0112/626a4cb3.dir/doc4.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016 |url-status=live}}
{{cite news |last1=Savoy |first1=Maggie |author-link=Maggie Savoy |title=Visitor from the Arctic Thaws Out Alaska's Image |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110645616/the-los-angeles-times/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=March 17, 1970 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=4, Section IV |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite report |last1=Taylor |first1=Theodore W. |title=The States and Their Indian Citizens |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED087583.pdf |publisher=Brookings Institution |access-date=October 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320204530/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED087583.pdf |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |location=Washington, D.C. |date=1972 |id=ED-087-583 |url-status=live}}
{{cite report |ref={{harvid|US House Subcommittee|1968}}|author=United States House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Subcommittee on Indian Affairs |title = Alaska Native Land Claims: Hearing, Ninetieth Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 11213, 15049, and 17129 Held July 11, 1968 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h6olAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA198 |date=1968 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |oclc=1017241913 |id=Serial 90-29, Report 98-181O}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|US Census|1930}}|author= |title=1930 US Census: Haycock Village, Koyuk, Alaska |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRZ1-6MS?i=11&cc=1810731&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXHB2-R7B |website=FamilySearch |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |access-date=October 2, 2022 |location=Washington D.C. |page=1B |date=December 12, 1929 |id=NARA microfilm publication T626, lines 26–32}}{{subscription required}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970a}}|author= |title=Beautiful Native Flies through the Air |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56094653/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 2, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=April 10, 1970 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1975}}|author= |title=Bicentennial Brings Bergt Appointment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110581784/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 8, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=March 8, 1975 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Fort Lauderdale News|1974}}|author= |title=Buckley Lauds Whaling Drama |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110834936/fort-lauderdale-news/ |access-date=October 8, 2022 |work=The Fort Lauderdale News |agency=New York Times News Service |date=June 6, 1974 |location=Fort Lauderdale, Florida |page=10C |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Marriage Certificate|1909}}|author= |title=Certificate of Marriage: Susie (Native woman)/Jak Beltz |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS1Z-M3RJ-M?cc=2216300&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3A6ZNN-HJBY |website=FamilySearch |publisher=Alaska State Archives |access-date=October 2, 2022 |location=Juneau, Alaska |page=58 |date=May 2, 1909 |id=Fairhaven Precinct, volume 55: 1902–1959}}{{subscription required}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1971}}|author= |title=Drama Tinges Meeting on Claims between Agnew, Native Leaders |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-mar-17-1971-3493083/ |access-date=October 5, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=March 17, 1971 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |pages=[https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-mar-17-1971-3493083/ 1], [https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-mar-17-1971-3493095/ 6] |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973a}}|author= |title=Egan Picks Laura Bergt for Senate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110583334/eagan-picks-laura-bergt-for-senate/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=March 21, 1973 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Anchorage Times|1984}}|author= |title=Eskimo Activist Dies in Hawaii |work=Anchorage Times |date=March 17, 1984 |location=Anchorage, Alaska |page=15 |via=NewsBank}}{{subscription required}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1974}}|author= |title=Feasibility Probe—Study Commences on Native Arts Institute |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-oct-16-1974-3495584/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=October 16, 1974 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |pages=[https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-oct-16-1974-3495584/ 1], [https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-oct-16-1974-3497551/ 4] |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1964}}|author= |title=Former Demo Now Alaska YR President |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110644950/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=April 20, 1964 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973b}}|author= |title=GOP Senators Reject Appointment of Bergt |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110582298/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |agency=Associated Press |date=March 22, 1973 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Anchorage Times|1968}}|author= |title=Hickel Airs Native Claims Plan: He Suggests U.S. Give Up Its Own Land |work=Anchorage Times |date=July 11, 1968 |location=Anchorage, Alaska |pages=1–2 |via=NewsBank}}{{subscription required}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Albuquerque Journal|1972}}|author= |title=John Rainer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110825891/albuquerque-journal/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Albuquerque Journal |date=July 30, 1972 |location=Albuquerque, New Mexico |page=G1 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Nome Nugget|1958}}|author= |title=Laura Beltz and Neil Bergt Are Married in Kotzebue on Wednesday |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/marriage-clipping-nov-07-1958-3489403/ |access-date=October 2, 2022 |work=The Nome Nugget |date=November 7, 1958 |location=Nome, Alaska |page=9 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1969a}}|author= |title=Laura Bergt |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56067177/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=January 7, 1969 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1976}}|author= |title=Laura Bergt Appointed Commissioner |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-may-26-1976-3495607/ |access-date=October 8, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=May 26, 1976 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |pages=[https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-may-26-1976-3495607/ 1], [https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-may-26-1976-3495610/ 6] |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1976}}|author= |title=Laura Bergt Appointed to OMAR's Executive Group |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110582785/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 8, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=December 1, 1976 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=18 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1972a}}|author= |title=Laura Bergt Called to Hearing |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-feb-16-1972-3495569/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=February 16, 1972 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=1 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1984}}|author= |title=Laura Bergt Crockett |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/obituary-clipping-mar-15-1984-3495430/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=March 15, 1984 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=3 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973d}}|author= |title=Laura Bergt, Four Others Named to Reapportion Board |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110772664/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |agency=Associated Press |date=May 10, 1973 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970b}}|author= |title=Laura Bergt on Council |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-aug-25-1970-3491730/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=August 25, 1970 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=3 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1970}}|author= |title=Laura Bergt to Chair NCIO Meeting in Fairbanks |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-sep-23-1970-3493100/ |access-date=October 5, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=September 23, 1970 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |pages=[https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-sep-23-1970-3493100/ 1], [https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-sep-23-1970-3493104/ 6] |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Nome Nugget|1959}}|author= |title=Laura Mae Beltz Is Cover Girl for the August Issue of 'Holiday' |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-jul-17-1959-3489405/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |work=The Nome Nugget |date=July 17, 1959 |location=Nome, Alaska |page=6 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1966}}|author= |title=Laura May Bergt to Coordinate 1966 Eskimo Olympics during Golden Days |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110579515/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=March 5, 1966 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1974}}|author= |title=Little Filing Action for Local Elections |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-sep-05-1974-3495480/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=September 5, 1974 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=3 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Marriage Record|1978}}|author= |title=Marriage Records: William F. Crockett/Laura Bergt |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:C3NT-KXT2 |website=FamilySearch |publisher=Hawaii Board of Health |access-date=October 6, 2022 |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |date=September 23, 1978 |id=certificate #7798}}{{subscription required}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1961}}|author= |title=Mrs. Beltz Succumbs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110598587/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 2, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=March 16, 1961 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite journal |ref={{harvid|National Journal|1970}}|author= |title=National Council on Indian Opportunity |journal=National Journal |date=September 12, 1970 |volume=2 |issue=37 |page=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_national-journal_1970-09-12_2_37/page/2004/mode/1up |access-date=October 5, 2022 |publisher=Atlantic Media, Inc. |location=Washington, D.C. |issn=0360-4217}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1968}}|author= |title=Native Land Claims Hearing |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-jul-17-1968-3493383/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=July 17, 1968 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=20 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1970c}}|author= |title=Natives Approve Federal Plan to Alter Role of Government |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-oct-03-1970-3491867/ |access-date=October 5, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=October 3, 1970 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=1 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967b}}|author= |title=Neil and Laura Bergt Leave; Who'll Run Eskimo Games? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56064894/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 2, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=September 29, 1967 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1969b}}|author= |title=Off to Century City |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110582845/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=March 4, 1969 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1969b}}|author= |title=Pert Laura Bergt Captivates Los Angeles Folks During Fair |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-apr-04-1969-3491774/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=April 4, 1969 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=3 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1969a}}|author= |title=Pert Laura Bergt to Promote Alaska at Los Angeles Fair |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-jan-03-1969-3491482/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=January 3, 1969 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |pages=[https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-jan-03-1969-3491482/ 1], [https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-jan-03-1969-3491487/ 6] |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Pioneer|1974}}|author= |title=Political Scene |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-sep-13-1974-3495515/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Pioneer |date=September 13, 1974 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=2 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Death Record|1941}}|author= |title=Record of Deaths: Louis Reich |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TT-2X8K?i=142&cc=2216300&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQ2BR-FG73 |website=FamilySearch |publisher=Alaska State Archives |access-date=October 2, 2022 |location=Juneau, Alaska |page=186 |date=August 27, 1941 |id=Noatak-Kobuk Precinct, Death certificates, volume 4: 1937–1943}}{{subscription required}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1973c}}|author= |title=Senate Deadlocked over Laura Bergt |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110582325/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |agency=Associated Press |date=March 24, 1973 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Oklahoman|1972}}|author= |title=State Indians to Aid Nixon |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110828269/the-daily-oklahoman/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=The Oklahoman |date=July 13, 1972 |location=Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |page=39 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1973}}|author= |title=Talented Laura Bergt— |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-oct-17-1973-3498922/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=October 17, 1973 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |pages=[https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-oct-17-1973-3498922/ 1], [https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-oct-17-1973-3498924/ 6] |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Nome Nugget|1960}}|author= |title=Twins Born to Neil Bergts |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/birth-clipping-nov-28-1960-3490914/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |work=The Nome Nugget |date=November 28, 1960 |location=Nome, Alaska |page=2 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Tundra Times|1972b}}|author= |title=Vice President Agnew Briefs Laura |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-jul-26-1972-3495573/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |work=Tundra Times |date=July 26, 1972 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |pages=[https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-jul-26-1972-3495573/ 1], [https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-jul-26-1972-3495577/ 5] |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1969c}}|author= |title=Villages Selected for ASHA Housing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110701151/fairbanks-daily-news-miner/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=December 2, 1969 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|1967a}}|author= |title=Women Are Named to Housing Board |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-may-26-1967-3491735/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=May 26, 1967 |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}