William Lewis Paul (1885-1977) was a pioneering Indian rights attorney and a leading figure in the campaign for native Alaskan rights. Paul was born in 1885 to parents who both had Tlingit mothers and European fathers. His mother, Matilda Kinnan Paul (Tamaree), was a Presbyterian missionary who worked at the Sitka Industrial Training School. Paul was educated at this school and later at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. He adopted the Carlisle School’s assimilationist ideals and its assertion that Indians should have the same rights and privileges as other American citizens. Paul later graduated from Whitworth College in Spokane and studied law through correspondence courses offered by LaSalle University. In 1920 he returned to Alaska. His brother Louis was Grand Secretary of the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB), and he convinced William to stay in Alaska and work for the ANB.
The Paul brothers dominated the ANB from 1920 to 1940. William was elected Grand Secretary in 1920, the same year he passed the bar, making him the first Alaska native attorney. The ANB re-elected him Grand Secretary in 1921, 1922, 1935, 1938, and 1951. He won the office of Grand President in 1928, 1929, and 1955. Louis served as Grand Secretary twice and as Grand President three times between 1919 and 1939. The ANB, founded in 1912 by Tlingit Presbyterians associated with the Sitka Industrial Training School, originally saw its mission as civilizing the Indians of Southeast Alaska. In 1915 the ANB successfully lobbied the territorial legislature to pass a law giving citizenship and voting rights to natives who learned English and held jobs in the cash economy. The Pauls retained the ANB’s focus on assimilating and Christianizing Indians. They argued, however, that Alaska natives were already US citizens by birth, and were therefore entitled to the rights and privileges associated with citizenship. The district court finally adopted this position in 1922, when William Paul successfully defended the right of his brother’s father-in-law to vote in US vs. Charlie Jones.
William Paul made the ANB a major force in Alaskan politics. He spent much of the early 1920s organizing new ANB chapters throughout southeast Alaska, boosting membership from 100 in 1920 to 2,200 by 1935. He also started and edited a newspaper,
In the mid 1930s, William Paul worked for the ANB in Washington, DC. He authored a bill that allowed the Tlingit and Haida Indians to sue the government in a test case to determine the validity of their land claims; Congress passed this law in 1935. Paul was also instrumental in extending the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) to Alaska in 1936. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) then hired Paul to help villages draft IRA constitutions. Paul, however, suffered several setbacks in the late 1930s. In 1937 the Alaska Bar Association prohibited Paul from practicing law on the grounds that he had defrauded a client. The BIA fired Paul shortly thereafter.
The ANB was divided sharply over whether to allow William Paul a major role in planning the Tlingit-Haida land claims suit. Paul would not be readmitted to the Bar until January 1959. His disbarment reduced his influence in the ANB, which turned to the rival Peratrovich family for leadership. Nonetheless, the BIA required the Haida and Tlingit to form a joint council to decide how to prosecute the suit and how to distribute the benefits, and Paul was elected head of this council in 1941. The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA), founded in 1935, became one of the leading organizations campaigning for native Alaskan rights from the 1940s onwards. Paul’s two sons, William Lackey Paul (often referred to as William L. Paul, Jr.) and Louis Frederick Paul (known as Fred Paul), were designated attorneys for the case against the government. The BIA and the Peratroviches removed the Pauls from the case in 1944, hiring instead the nationally known attorney James Curry.
William Paul dissented from Curry’s contention that the Tlingit and Haida were distinct tribal groups whose land holdings had been usurped by whites. Paul argued that the ‘Tlingit’ and ‘Haida’, as represented by the CCTHIA, reflected linguistic rather than tribal groupings. He believed that class action for Native lands claims must be brought by individual tribes rather than the CCTHIA. Paul helped BIA Commissioner Dillon Meyer remove Curry from the case in 1953, forcing the Tlingit and Haida to hire attorney Israel Weissbrodt. Meanwhile, Paul and his sons, despite great opposition from the ANB, brought a series of cases designed to force the courts to accept Paul’s theories about the Haida and Tlingit claims. The cases culminated with Tee-Hit-Ton vs. US (1955). The Supreme Court stated that compensation could not be awarded for Native Land Claims unless recognized specifically by Congress, and rejected Paul’s theory about the Tlingit and Haida. The CCTHIA was later re-organized, however, in order to reflect more accurately tribal structures in Southeast Alaska. Although considered a setback for Native rights, the Tee-Hit-Ton case did not end the Tlingit-Haida Land Claims action. The Court of Claims ruled in 1959 that the Tlingit and Haida had occupied and owned the entire area of southeast Alaska at the time the state was purchased by the US in 1867. Compensation of $7.5 million was awarded to the CCTHIA in 1968. Organizations including the ANB and the Alaska Federation of Natives International would continue meanwhile to campaign for Native land claim settlements across Alaska.
Paul moved to Seattle following the Tee-Hit-Ton case, and became gradually less active within the ANB. He adopted the role of an advisor rather than a leader within the organization. He frequently sent open letters to the ANB membership that set out his goals for the organization and his opinions of its leaders’ policies. Although he was not active in the passage of the landmark 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, his sons were and corresponded with him on the matter. The settlement awarded both land and compensation to Alaskan Natives, to be administered by twelve regional corporations within the state and one outside. Paul would remain involved with Native rights issues and organizations through the final years of his life. He practiced law as late as 1972, and paid active dues to the Alaska Bar Association until 1974. William Lewis Paul died in 1977.
Arranged in 6 accessions:
Contains correspondence, case files, subject files, speeches and writings, conference and convention materials, minutes, reports, newletters, pleadings, photographs, maps, personal documents, ephemera, clippings, and financial records documenting Paul's involvement with the Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indians of Alaska.
Portions of the papers are available on microfilm.
Open to all users.
Some restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation or publication. Contact Special Collections for details.
Typed names on first page: Civil names. Handwritten Indian names on second page.
Includes Clair Engle letter and William Paul's reply regarding Paul's personal Endorsement of Statehood; "Excerpts from Proceedings" in the United States Senate, November 28- December 1, 1950.
Includes original United States Dept. of Interior BIA (Juneau) letter (December 19, 1968), Blood Quantum -- "as you have indicated, the recognition of one fourth degree is not consistently recognized for all purposes. In some states, such as Washington (and California) the Bureau provides no assistance because the States have assumed this responsibility."
Also includes J. Earl Jackman letters, Board of National Missions, Presbyterian Church.
Also includes Senator Clinton P. Anderson Interior Insular Affairs Senate Report No. 8 (January 3, 1953) which includes the views of Senator Lehman; United States Govt Printing, 1947-1953.
Also includes copy of Draft of A Letter From The President of The National Congress of American Indians To The Mayors of The Various Alaskan Indian Communities.
Misfiled in this file: 4 copies of a
Also includes issues of
File also includes Charter & Constitution of Karluk.
The following is a name index to the William Lewis Paul correspondence, Accession No. 1885-004.
Arranged in 12 series:
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 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,
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.
The merging and processing of this collection was completed in 2000. Some case files requiring further appraisal were left out of the accession. All case files concerning personal matters were removed and destroyed during processing in 1999.