Scope and Contents: This collection contains a wide range records associated with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) and the numerous committees, organizations, and Alaska Native villages associated with it spanning from 1935 to 1986, the bulk from 1965 to 1980. This includes meeting minutes, reports, subject files, and correspondence between the Central Council and an assortment of organizations from Southeast Alaska and wider Alaska. The collection also includes articles, governmental papers, and financial statements concerning CCTHITA. Materials have been organized topically.
Boxes 1, 2, 3, & 5 contain primarily the working files of CCTHITA, with Box 4 containing oversized materials, all of which contain correspondence, meeting minutes, and other materials. Box 5 was added to the collection as an addendum after its initial processing. Of special interest are the contents of Box 1, Fd 14, which contains the meeting minutes from delegates of Tlingit and Haida to organize under HR 2756, for a land suit, 1935-1936. Boxes 3 and 5 consist of organizational files kept by CCTHITA, and contains documents relating to CCTHITA’s interactions with various Southeast Alaska organizations, some of which include the Chilkat Indian Association, the Klawock Cooperative Association, the Wrangell Cooperative Association, papers concerning the Organized Village of Saxman, Metlakatla Indian Community, and a host of other entities.
Boxes 6, 7 and 8 contain information pertaining to issues concerning tribal health care systems that the CCTHITA was involved in, as well as information about other causes the organization championed, including subsistence rights, intertribal cooperation, and strong tribal governments recognized by the federal government.