Central Council for the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska Records, 1935-1983 | Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives

By Whitney Schaeler, Intern

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Collection Overview

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

Scope and Contents of the Materials

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.

Biographical Note

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/

Subject/Index Terms

Haida Indians--History.
Tlingit Indians--History.

Administrative Information

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.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1: CCTHITA correspondence, reports, and a prominent amount of minutes and financial statements, 1935-1983.],
[Box 2: Legal papers: constitutions and bylaws, various acts; Tlingit and Haida Regional Housing Authority (THRHA) correspondence, papers, and documents, 1935-1983.],
[Box 3: Indian Reorganization Act (I.R.A) Councils and Associations of various tribes, their constitutions, correspondence, and papers, 1938-1983.],
[Box 4: Correspondence, reports, minutes, budgets of CCTHITA, THRHA, and Man Power Division; papers about Indian Judgment Funds Act, 1935-1981.],
[Box 5: Addendum Papers; correspondence and files, 1959-1980s.],
[Box 6: Documents Concerning the Tlingit Haida Central Council and Health Care Issues, Tribal Recognition, Miscellaneous Files, 1987-1995],
[Box 7: Tribal Self-Governance, General Assembly Minutes, Miscellaneous Files, 1993-1994],
[Box 8: Fall 1994 Self Governance Meeting, Materials Relating to a Meeting of the Southeast Native Subsistence Commission and Tribal Listening Conference, 1994.],
[All]

Box 4: Correspondence, reports, minutes, budgets of CCTHITA, THRHA, and Man Power Division; papers about Indian Judgment Funds Act, 1935-1981.

Fd 1: Amendment to the Act of June 19, 1935, and related documents, 1965. Correspondence and documents pertaining to the Indian Judgment Funds Act, 1973 [other documents about the Indian Judgment Fund Act can be found in box 2, folder 35].

Fd 2: Angoon Tribal House Renovation Project, 1976 [other documents on Angoon can be found in box 2, folders 37-39].

Fd 3: THRHA correspondence and budgets, 1979-1981. “Consolidated Review of Management Operations,” 1977-1978 [other THRHA documents can be found in box 2, folders 44-50].

Fd 4: THRHA notes, correspondence, and loan agreement, 1978. Board of Commissioners Meeting minutes, August 29, 1978.

Fd 5: Correspondence, minutes, balance sheet, financial reports and budgets, and documents related to THRHA, 1980-1981.

Fd 6: CCTHITA correspondence, financial documents, Man Power reports, and Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) documents, 1975-1978.

Fd 7: CETA and Man Power Division correspondence, audit report, financial papers, and reports, 1975-1978.

Fd 8: CCTHITA Reorganization Plan and accompanying documents; reports, correspondence, charts, and proposals, 1978-1980.

Fd 9: Chilkoot Indian Association I.R.A. Council notes, 1981. Budget Report Worksheets, 1979-1980. Reports, 1979. Reorganization Project, 1979. Proposal to Serve as Independent Accountants, 1980. Ernst and Whinney correspondence, 1980 [other Ernst and Whinney records can be found in box 1, folder 27-28].

Fd 10: Central Council and Programs Status Report, 1978. Finance Committee Minutes, 1978. Ernst and Ernst correspondence, 1979, and Audited Financial Statements, 1978. [other Ernst and Ernst records can be found in box 1, folders 27-30]

Fd 11: Resolution of the Executive Committee of the CCTHITA, 1977-1979.

Fd 12: CCTHITA Finance Committee meeting minutes and reports, 1978.

Fd 13: Tlingit and Haida Credit Union correspondence and documents, 1980.