Andrew P. Hope and Ellen Hope Hays Papers, 1947-2002 | Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives

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.