By Arlene Schmuland, UAA Archivist, & Zachary R. Jones, SHI Archivist
Collection Overview
Title: Andrew P. Hope and Ellen Hope Hays Papers, 1947-2002
ID: MS/027
Creator: Hays, Ellen Hope (1927-2013)
Extent: 55.0 Boxes
Arrangement: The collection has been organized into two series, Series I: Andrew P. Hope Papers, and Series 2: Ellen Hope Hays Papers. Thereafter materials are organized topically and then chronologically. A folder level inventory is provided for the first seven boxes, thereafter a box level inventory is provided for the remainder of the collection.
Date Acquired: 12/13/2010
Languages: English [eng]
Scope and Contents of the Materials
This fifty-five box collection consists of papers relating to Andrew P. Hope and Ellen Hope Hays’ activities in various Alaska Native tribal, community, and civic organizations between 1935 and 2002, with emphasis on the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Southeast Alaska. The collection contains ample and detailed content on the activities of federally recognized tribal governments, including the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indians of Alaska (CCTHIA), Sealaska Corporation, and Shee Atika Inc.. Also included are materials concerning other Alaska Native organizations, such as the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood and the Alaska Federation of Natives. The bulk of this collection concerns the work of Ellen Hope Hays, with three core boxes focusing on the work of her father Andrew P. Hope while working for CCTHIA.
The first three boxes of this collection document the activities of Andrew P. Hope while he served as president of the CCTHIA. Many of these papers concern the administrative affairs of CCTHIA and efforts towards and after the enactment of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA). These papers provide detailed and important information about the history of the Tlingit and Haida Indians. Other materials in the collection, such as Boxes 3-7 and 39-43, contain the CCTHIA papers of Ellen Hope Hays, dating to circa 1968 to 2000, documenting her positions and activities while working for CCTHIA.
The bulk of the collection, boxes 4 to 55, concern the life and work of Ellen Hope Hays. These papers document her work from the various regional and national organizations she was involved with, including papers concerning the Institute of Alaska Native Arts (IANA), the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Brookings Institute, Alaska Rural Community Action Program, Sheldon Jackson College, various Sitka organizations, the Alaska Humanities Forum, the Alaska Historical Commission, and the Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee. Her papers provide a model documentation for Alaska Native perspective during the era of Self-Determination.
The collection has been organized into two series, Series I: Andrew P. Hope Papers, and Series 2: Ellen Hope Hays Papers. Thereafter materials are organized topically and then chronologically. A folder level inventory is provided for the first seven boxes, thereafter a box level inventory is provided for the remainder of the collection.
Biographical Note
Dr. Ellen Hope Hays (1927-2013) was the daughter of Andrew P. Hope (1869-1968). She was a Tlingit Indian activist, community leader, and cultural educator. She was of the Raven moiety, Kiks.ádi Clan, and X’aaká Hít (Point House). Her Tlingit name was Kaakaltín (Raven Looking Forward). She obtained her basic education from Sheldon Jackson Boarding School in Sitka and later studied at the University of Alaska Southeast-Sitka campus. Early on she became active in Tlingit affairs at Sitka. She joined the Alaska Native Sisterhood and Alaska Federation of Natives, worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and the National Park Service, becoming superintendent of the Sitka Historical Park—the first indigenous individual to hold the position. She sat on many boards and served to guide many aspects of Alaskan affairs. She was a Sealaska and Shee Atika shareholder. In 1996 University of Alaska Southeast conferred an honorary Doctorate of Law upon Hays. Early in life she married Roger Lang and they had one child, Karen Valorie Lang. In 1978 she married Henry Hays. Hays passed away in Sitka in October 2013.
Ellen Hope Hays was also interviewed about her life and work as part of Alaska’s Project Jukebox, and the audio for her interview can be listened to at the link provided below. http://jukebox.uaf.edu/Sitka/program/htm/ElHa.htm
Sources:
Marie Olson, “Ellen Hope Hays,” Raven’s Bones Journal 5, no. 1 (Nov. 1996): 5, 8.
Obituary, Sitka Sentinel (Oct. 11, 2013)
Administrative Information
Acquisition Source:
UAA/APU Consortium Library
Acquisition Method:
The materials in the collection were donated to SHI by UAA/APU Consortium Library, represented by Head of Archives & Special Collections Arlene Schmuland, on December 13, 2010. These papers were previously in the possession of UAA Archives & Special Collections, donated to UAA by Ellen Hope Hays in 1987. Ellen Hope Hays approved the transfer of possession from UAA/APU to SHI.
Processing Information:
Arlene Schmuland, UAA Archivist
Box and Folder Listing
- Series 1: Andrew P. Hope Papers
- Box 1: CCTHAI administrative papers and land claims lawsuit papers, 1935-1971.
- Box 2: CCTHAI administrative papers and correspondence, 1956-1967.
- Box 3: CCTHAI administrative papers and correspondence, 1967-1969.
- Series 2: Ellen Hope Hays Papers
- Box 4: CCTHAI administrative papers and correspondence, 1969-1970.
- Box 5: CCTHAI administrative papers and correspondence, 1970-72.
- Box 6: CCTHAI administrative papers and correspondence, 1972-1981.
- Box 7: CCTHAI administrative papers and correspondence, 1965-1999.
- Box 8: IANA papers.
- Box 9: IANA papers.
- Box 10: IANA papers.
- Box 11: ANB and ANS papers, 1967-1980.
- Box 12: Sealaska Corporation records, 1981; and National Congress of American Indians meeting records, 1981.
- Box 13: Brookings Institute records, 1969.
- Box 14: Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RURALCAP) records, 1968-1974; and Rural Development and Indian Affairs records; 1970-1973.
- Box 15: Southeastern Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (SEACAP) records; undated, 1969-1974.
- Box 16: Sheldon Jackson College records, 1966-1984.
- Box 17: Sheldon Jackson College records, 1966-1984.
- Box 18: Sitka-related records, 1950-1972.
- Box 19: Alaska Humanities Forum records
- Box 20: Alaska Humanities Forum records
- Box 21: Alaska Humanities Forum records
- Box 22: Alaska Humanities Forum records
- Box 23: Alaska Humanities Forum records
- Box 24: Alaska Humanities Forum records
- Box 25: Alaska Humanities Forum records
- Box 26: Alaska Humanities Forum records
- Box 27: Alaska Historical Society records; 1975-1982; and Alaska Historical and Fine Arts Committee records; 1982-1983.
- Box 28: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 29: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 30: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 31: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 32: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 33: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 34: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 35: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 36: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 37: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 38: Alaska State Historical Sites Advisory Committee records, 1973-1981.
- Box 39: Ellen Hope Hays CCTHIA and AFN papers, circa 1980s-1990s.
- Box 40: Ellen Hope Hays CCTHIA papers, circa 1980s-1990s.
- Box 41: Ellen Hope Hays CCTHIA papers, circa 1980s-1990s.
- Box 42: Ellen Hope Hays CCTHIA papers, circa 1980s-1990s.
- Box 43: Ellen Hope Hays CCTHIA papers, circa 1980s-1990s.
- Box 44: Ellen Hope Hays Alaska Native Sisterhood papers, circa 1960s-1990s.
- Box 45: Ellen Hope Hays Sealaska Corporation papers, circa 1980s-1990s.
- Box 46: Ellen Hope Hays Sitka Community Association papers, circa 1980s-1990s.
- Box 47: Baranof Island Housing Authority records; 1986-1989; and Shee Atika Inc. records; 1989-2001.
- Box 48: Alaska Federation of Natives records; 1966-1991. Series includes reports, subject titles, and correspondence.
- Box 49: National Park Service training records. 1970-1976.
- Box 50: Life learning curriculum materials for the University of Alaska Anchorage, 1968-1981.
- Box 51: Native cultural material and cultural resources, 1980-1993.
- Box 52: Native education material, 1968-1993.
- Box 53: Alaska Native art, 1969-2000.
- Box 54: Museums, Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and Keepers of the Treasures, 1978-1997.
- Box 55: History, Russian American cultural heritage, festivals, American Indian policy, 1976-1992.