Archives West Finding Aid

Scope and Content: Subject files, which include correspondence, 1919-1976.

Scope and Content: "Wrangell" subject file, personal documents, excerpts of letters and family photographs.

Scope and Content: Printed invitation to dedication of Paul building, Ketchikan Community College.

Scope and Content: Correspondence, 1951-1970, and Edward L. Bartlett file: general correspondence, 1944-1966.

Scope and Content: Correspondence, case files, subject files, speeches and writings, conferences and conventions, minutes, reports, newsletters, pleadings, photographs, maps, ephemera, clippings, financial records, bulk from 1920-1977.

Major correspondents include Senator Clinton Anderson, Congressmen Bob Bartlett and Howard Pollock and Paul’s brother, Louis Paul. Subject files are arranged in alphabetical order and include records relating to particular activities, geographic locations, institutions and organizations, mostly in Alaska. A significant number of records reflect Paul’s activities in Angoon and Juneau, the Indian Reorganization Act, the National Congress of American Indians and the United States Interior Department. There is also a subject file containing correspondence regarding Philip Drucker’s 1958 work, The Native Brotherhoods, dated 1959-1974. Case files span the period circa 1920-1977. These are grouped together either as ‘enrollment,’ ‘land claims’ or ‘miscellaneous’ cases, and are arranged alphabetically by name of plaintiff. One subject series contains grammatical notes and publications in the Tlingit language.

The separate series relating to the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) documents activities and the history of the ANB, as well as Paul’s involvement with the organization. Correspondence has been divided into three series: that of William Lewis Paul, other individuals and inter-organizational correspondence. Paul’s correspondence includes letters to Nelson Frank, grand president of the ANB, regarding a proposed written history of the organization. A subject series documents the Alaska Native Service (1949-1976), and there are some significant papers from conferences and conventions held between 1934 and 1976. Copies of the ANB’s official newspaper, Voice of Brotherhood (1954-1976) are included among various newsletters.

The Alaska Federation of Natives International series contains records dated between 1953 and 1977. These include constitutions and bylaws, general correspondence, minutes, speeches and writings and reports. A significant amount of correspondence documents proposals for a thirteenth regional corporation, to represent Alaskan natives living outside the state, following the enactment of the Alaska Native Claims Land Settlement Act (1971). A separate subject series documents the ‘Sealaska Corporation’, established to represent native peoples in southeast Alaska.

The next series documents some of the activities of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska (CCTHIA). Although it contains general correspondence dating from 1940-1975, the bulk of the records date from 1958 to 1976. The material reflects the relationship of the Tlingit and Haida government with organizations such as the ANB and the AFN. General correspondence documents William Paul’s efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to define the nature and rights of the ‘Tlingit’ and ‘Haida’ people in relation to the various linguistic, tribal and social groupings in southeast Alaska. The series contains papers from the case brought by Paul against John Borbridge in 1971, challenging Borbridge’s position as president of the CCTHIA.

Documentation of the Tlingit & Haida Indians of Alaska, Washington Chapter is contained in a small series. Records span the period circa 1960-1976. Correspondence and also court papers from a case brought by Paul in 1975 reflect disputes regarding payment of dues and the voting rights of members.

The Tlingit and Haida Citizen’s Association series includes correspondence, speeches, writings and clippings spanning the period circa 1960-1973. Records document policy proposals and disputes following the Tlingit and Haida Land Claims ruling in 1959. They reflect William Paul’s attempts to ensure that compensation be awarded on the basis of a person’s inheritance (ie. membership of a tribal group) rather than their place of residence in Alaska.

The Tlingit & Haida Land Claims series spans the period 1933-1977. Major correspondents include Congressman Bob Bartlett, the legal firm Cobb & Weissbodt and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The series documents various issues relating to the Tlingit and Haida legal cases, including the question of per capita compensation payments. A case file from Paul vs. Norman Nauska (1963) reflects Paul’s challenge to the right of Nauska and others to represent the Stikine Tribal Community at the Wrangell Convention in November 1963. A subject series documents the issue of ‘Enrollment’ in Tlingit and Haida tribal groupings. The ‘tribes’ subject series contains papers relating to the definition and proof of tribal groupings and membership.

A separate series contains papers relating to the Seattle-based American Indian Professional Association (circa 1961-1963). The series documents meetings held during 1962 and includes some evidence of discussions concerning educational programs. Details of scholarships and grants for American Indians in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are also contained.

The Northwest Indian Economic Development Association series contains records spanning the period circa 1958-1971. Although the bulk of papers document the establishment and incorporation of the association, there is some evidence of the association’s concern with specific issues including Native land rights and building development. The series includes a copy of a ’Proposed Program for Public Relations and Communications and Budget’(1971).

The collection includes also series for Paul’s wife, Frances Lackey Paul (1890-1970), and two of their sons, Frederick Paul and William Lackey Paul. The Frances L. Paul series contains records spanning the period 1939-1977. Correspondence documents some of her work as a teacher in the Alaska Native schools during the 1940s. Undated diary fragments concerning various teaching and family-related events are arranged under ‘Speeches and Writings’.

Records in the Frederick Paul series span the period 1942-1977, with the bulk dating from 1955 onwards. Correspondence contains various work-related letters concerning Native rights and land claims, including the rights of fisherman in Klawock, Alaska. William Lewis Paul is a major correspondent. A subject series for the ‘Kenai Peninsula Native Association’ includes a report on ‘Land Occupancy, Ownership and Use on Homesteads’ on the Peninsula in 1955, and a map illustrating the area of the Native land claim.

The final series comprises papers of William Lackey Paul. Correspondence contains some evidence of his relationship with the ANB and CCTHIA, with William Lewis Paul as a major correspondent. A separate subject series documents William Lackey Paul’s involvement in the Tlingit and Haida Land Claims (1940-1971), and proposals to establish corporations following the Alaska Native Land Claims Act of 1971. Letters between Paul and individuals including attorney James E. Curry reflect some of the debates surrounding the definition and membership of tribal communities.