By Whitney Schaeler, Intern
Title: Central Council for the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska Records, 1935-1983
ID: MS/016
Primary Creator: Central Council for the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska
Extent: 8.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 00/00/1982
Subjects: Haida Indians--History., Tlingit Indians--History.
Languages: English
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.
In 1929, at a convention in Haines the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) passed a resolution to sue the United States government for the creation of the Tongass Nation Forest and the Glacier Bay National Park without the permission of the indigenous people of Southeast Alaska. The suit was filed in the Federal Court of Claims and the ANB was later advised that only federally recognized tribes can sue the United States over aboriginal land claims. The ANB then petitioned the United States Congress to recognize the aboriginal people of Southeast Alaska as a tribe and on June 19, 1935, an act of Congress was passed to recognize the Tlingit and Haida people as a single tribe.
Note: In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) was passed to set a standard for the federal government to recognize tribes in the Lower 48. The Alaska Native Brotherhood petitioned Congress to amend the IRA to apply to Alaska, and in 1936 the revision was made.
In 1975, the Indian Self-determination Act (PL 93-638) was passed requiring federal agencies, primarily the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), to contract with federally recognized tribes to manage programs that are intended to benefit Native Americans. In Alaska, the BIA adopted an “Order of Precedence” for recognizing tribes for the purpose of contracting:
Indian Reorganization Act tribes;
Traditional tribes;
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act village corporations; and
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act regional corporations.
In 1993, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior amended the list of federally recognized tribes that are posted in the Federal Register to include all tribes in Alaska. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska was left off of the list and petitioned Congress to restore the tribe to the list. In 1994, the President of the United States signed into law an Act that not only restored Tlingit and Haida to the list but also required that the Department of the Interior must consult with Congress before removing any recognized tribe from the list published in the Federal Register.
Sources: Central Council website, accessed January 3, 2014: http://www.ccthita.org/
Repository: Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives
Acquisition Source: Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska
Acquisition Method: The material in the collection was donated to SHI in 1982 by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska. Accession number 1982.001.
Fd 1: Administrative reading file, correspondence, 1974.
Fd 2: Administrative reading file, correspondence, 1975.
Fd 3: Correspondence between the Tribal Operations Program and the Policy Planning Section, 1981-1982.
Fd 4: Correspondence between the Tribal Operations Program and the Policy Planning Section. Tribal enrollment documents. 1981.
Fd 5: Management Intern specifications and correspondence, 1981-1982. Youth Employment Program Contract. 1981.
Fd 6: Management Intern correspondence and documents, 1980-1982.
Fd 7: “Tlingit and Haida Fisheries Program Studies and Proposal,” March 31, 1973.
Fd 8: Tlingit and Haida Fisheries Development Corporation correspondence and documents, 1982-1984. “Proposal for a Traditional Fisher on the Chilkoot River,” July-September, 1982. Promissory note, September 30, 1981.
Fd 9: Johnson O’Malley Program correspondence, 30 September 1974. Summary of Proposal for Johnson-O’Malley Funds, 1974. Monthly Reports for January- May 1975 and September –December 1974.
Fd 10: Johnson O’Malley Review Committee, February 4-5, 1975. Includes agenda, previous meeting notes, quarterly report, program reports, fiscal information, problems, background, and miscellaneous materials.
Fd 11: “Directory of Services Available to the Elderly of Southeast Alaska & 1981-82 Calendar History of Southeast.”
Fd 12: “Southeast Alaska Urban Native Needs Assessment Survey,” April, 1977.
Fd 13: “Southeast Community Capital Improvements Plan Phase 1,” June 1983.
Fd 14: Meeting minutes from delegates of Tlingit and Haida to organize under HR 2756, for a land suit, 1935-1936. Two copies.
Fd 15: Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Tlingit and Haida Indians- Juneau, Alaska. November 4-6, 1964.
Fd 16: Minutes of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indians. April 13-16, 1966.
Fd 17: Special Convention Minutes, October 6, 1972. Resolution summary-convention actions taken, October 6-7, 1972. Speech by Clarence Jackson, October 7, 1972. Correspondence, 1973. Minutes of Constitution Committee, November 3, 1972. Constitution Committee Meeting, November 5, 1972. “Suggested Changes Recommended by the Constitution Committee,” November 3, 5, 1972 & January 29, 30, 1973. Constitution Committee Meeting, January 29, 1973. Constitution Committee Meeting, January 30, 1973. “Suggested Changes Recommended by the Constitution Committee,” January, 29, 30, 1973. “Purposed Constitution of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska,” 1973.
Fd 18: Special Convention Tentative Agenda, October, 6-7, 1972. Minutes of the Seventh Annual Convention, April 19-22, 1972.
Fd 19: Minutes of the Seventh Annual Convention, April 19-22, 1972. (Second copy).
Fd 20: Minutes of the Sixteenth Annual Meeting, October 6-8, 1980.
Fd 21: Minutes of the Seventeenth Annual Meeting, October 1-3, 1981. (2 copies)
Fd 22: Minutes of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting, October 7-9, 1982 (2 copies); and Minutes from the 20th General Assembly, 1984.
Fd 23: Executive Committee Meeting Minutes: May 25-26, 1982. August 6, 1982. October 9, 1982 (2 copies). October 20, 1982 (2 copies). November 6, 1982 (2 copies). December 13-14, 1982. January 22-23, 1983 (2 copies).
Fd 24: Tlingit and Haida Tribal News 1978 & 1979. [incomplete]
Fd 25: Tlingit and Haida Tribal News 1980: February, May, July (2 copies), August, September, October (2 copies), November (2 copies), December January.
Fd 26: Tlingit and Haida Tribal News 1981-82: December-January, February (2copies), March, April (2 copies), May (2 copies), June, October (3 copies), 1981; August 1982.
Fd 27: Ernst & Whinney Financial Records: September 25, 1981. September 30, 1981. September 30, 1982 & 1981. December 18, 1981. January 21, 1983.
Fd 28: Ernst and Whinney Financial Records: August 1, 1978- December 31, 1979. October 1, 1978- September 30, 1980. July 1, 1979- June 30, 1980. March 25, 1980. September 30, 1980.
Fd 29: Ernst and Ernst Financial Records: June 30, 1973. June 30, 1974. June 30, 1975 and 1974 (audited). June 30, 1975 and 1974 (unaudited). June 30, 1976. September 30, 1977. September 30, 1978 (2 copies).
Fd 30: Ernst and Ernst Supplemental Computation of Overhead Rates, August 1977.
