By Zachary R. Jones, Archivist
Title: Simpson, Tillinghast & Sorensen, P.C. Indian Point Records, 1995-1998
ID: MS/002
Primary Creator: Simpson, Tillinghast & Sorensen, P.C.
Extent: 2.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 05/30/2008
Subjects: Tlingit Indians--History.
Languages: English
This collection consists of materials related to the 1996 events surrounding National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) attempt to construct a large laboratory facility on Indian Point, Auke Cape, near Juneau, Alaska. Regarding this issue, in 1995-1996 NOAA selected Indian Point as their desired location to construct a lab, but it was also a known location possessing sacred and traditional value for local Native American Indians, the Tlingit, a place which also hosted many shaman graves. To halt the construction of the NOAA lab on this traditional site, the Sealaska Corporation and Sealaska Heritage Institute hired Simpson, Tillinghast & Sorensen (STS). After legal investigation by STS and pressure from Sealaska (such as Board of Directors member Rosita Worl) and other Native organizations, NOAA agreed to select a new site for their lab. This collection contains correspondence concerning this event, legal research by STS, and reports prepared by NOAA and others all dating to between 1995 and 1998. Original order has been obtained in the arrangement of these materials.
For additional information about this event see the following essays:
Rosita Worl, “Indian Point Not for Sale; Or, Reflections on Indian Point,” The George Wright Forum vol. 26, no. 1 (2009): 57-63.
Thomas F. Thornton, “Anatomy of a Traditional Cultural Property: The Saga of Auke Cape,” The George Wright Forum vol. 26, no. 1 (2009): 64-75.
Simpson, Tillinghast & Sorensen, P.C. (STS) attorneys serve as principal counsel on the legal affairs of leading corporate and government clients. The firm's attorneys enjoy state- and region-wide reputations in the fields of oil and gas law, timber, mining, Native corporation law and environmental compliance, defamation, employment law and commercial litigation. The firm represents a number of resource development clients by serving nearly the full range of their legal needs, including governmental relations. The principals of the firm are all long-time Alaska attorneys with a broad range of experience. They have worked together for many years, formerly as shareholders in the Juneau office of one of the state's largest firms. Martindale-Hubbell rates STS at AV, the highest possible ranking for both legal ability and ethical standards.
The firm's current and recent projects include purchases and sales of major business entities; state securities law compliance; complex real estate and timber transactions; purchase and sale of significant mining properties and related mineral exploration and development agreements; municipal law; employment matters, including defense of wrongful termination, sexual harassment, union actions and civil rights claims; tort defense; including claims of defamation and emotional distress; commercial and construction litigation for both public and private sector entities; constitutional law; labor relations; and general corporate representation, including board and shareholder matters and personnel/employment disputes, agreements and advice.
Source: From the STS website, accessed June 23, 2008; http://stsl.com/about.html
Repository: Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives
Acquisition Source: Simpson, Tillinghast & Sorensen, P.C.
Acquisition Method: The material in the collection was donated to SCRC on May 30, 2008 by Simpson, Tillinghast & Sorensen, P.C., represented by firm secretary Beverly Wilson.
Fd 1: Correspondence and papers about the case.
Fd 2: Correspondence and papers about the case.
Fd 3: Legal research papers.
Fd 4: Legal research papers.
Fd 5: Two papers on Tlingit Shamanism prepared by Rosita Worl, 1996.
Fd 6: Two copies of “Cultural Resource Investigations at Auke Bay, Juneau, Alaska for National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,” by Charles M. Mobley & Associates, 1996.
Fd 7: “NOAA/NMFS Juneau Consolidated Facility Draft Environmental Impact Statement,” September 1996.
Fd 1: “NOAA/NMFS Juneau Consolidated Facility Draft Environmental Impact Statement,” September 1997.
Fd 2: “NOAA/NMFS Juneau Consolidated Facility Draft Environmental Impact Statement,” Part 1, January 1998.
Fd 3: “NOAA/NMFS Juneau Consolidated Facility Draft Environmental Impact Statement,” Part 2, January 1998.
