About
SHI’s William L. Paul Sr. Archives and art and ethnographic collections are stored deep in a large, climate-controlled, protected room at its headquarters in Juneau. The archives, named in honor of the late Tlingit lawyer and activist William L. Paul Sr., houses 7,100 linear feet of historical and cultural material documenting the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian language, culture, and history.
It contains historical documents, manuscripts, personal papers, and more. It includes 60,000 photographs and 5,000 audio and audiovisual recordings, most of which cannot be found in other libraries or archives. SHI also cares for more than 900 art and ethnographic objects, both ancient and modern. In addition, SHI serves as a repository on behalf of clans and tribes for cultural objects repatriated under NAGPRA for the Native people of Southeast Alaska. Many of SHI’s holdings are available to the public for educational and research purposes.
The Sealaska Heritage Library houses over 4,500 historical and contemporary books and periodicals on Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian culture, history, and language. These books include the works of scientists and scholars in art, history, anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, and social and natural sciences, as well as historical and descriptive accounts and observations by explorers, missionaries, travelers, and naturalists. The collection includes historical and contemporary educational publications, curriculum materials, language texts, and translations. SHI houses many rare and out-of-print books, trade books, and publications by university presses and museums.
While the collection focuses on the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples of Southeast Alaska, SHI also collects and maintains historical and contemporary publications on other peoples of the Northwest Coast in Canada and the United States. Furthermore, the institute gathers important publications related to salient social and cultural issues facing Alaska’s Natives and Native Americans in the continental United States.
The institute adheres to the publication Protocols for Native American Archival Materials and honors Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian traditional cultural beliefs that clans retain the intellectual property rights to clan crests, stories, and songs. Patrons who use or study clan crests, stories, or songs must credit clan ownership of them.
William L. Paul Sr. Archives
SHI’s archives is named for William L. Paul Sr., who was Alaska’s first Native attorney, the state’s first Native legislator, a gifted orator, and a formidable warrior who fought on the front lines of many legal and political battles. His achievements, however, are not as well known outside of Alaska Native circles. SHI’s Board of Trustees named the archives after him to honor his accomplishments and to publicly recognize him for his life’s work.
Because William Paul was one of the first to initiate formal legal and political action to resolve Native land claims in the early 1900s, and because of his extensive work on land claims from Southeast Alaska to the North Slope, he is considered the father of Alaska Native land claims. William Paul worked closely with his brother, Louis Paul, and his sons William L. Paul Jr. and Fred Paul, who were also attorneys. William L. Paul Sr. died in 1977.
Archival Database: Conducting Research
The online database allows researchers to access finding aids that describe manuscripts, photographs, and recording collections that are stored in the institute’s archives as well as all of the art and ethnographic objects housed at SHI. To learn more about setting up a reference appointment to view any of these materials, contact us at shiarchives@sealaskaheritage.com. The reading room is open to researchers Monday through Friday from 10 am–4 pm (closed 12–1 pm) by appointment. Don’t forget to check out the materials in the resources section.
Using the Database
The online database allows researchers to access finding aids that describe manuscripts, photographs, and recording collections housed at SHI.
Global Searching
Archives Directory
Collections Directory
Accessing the Library
You can search the library online. SHI’s books and archival collections are cataloged in OCLC WorldCat and the Alaska Library Consortium. When you know what library books you want to access, please write down the details of the materials and make an appointment to visit our facility by contacting archives staff at shiarchives@sealaskaheritage.com.
The reading room is open to researchers Monday through Friday from 10 am–4 pm (closed 12–1 pm) by appointment.
