William Paul (attorney)
Encyclopedia
William Lewis Paul was an American attorney, legislator, and political activist from the Tlingit nation of southeastern Alaska
. He was known as a leader in the Alaska Native Brotherhood.
William Lewis Paul was born in Tongass village in Alaska
, the second child of Louis Francis Paul (a.k.a. Pyreau) and Matilda ("Tillie") Kinnon Paul (Tamaree), a Tlingit couple with Scots and French ancestry as well. William's Tlingit name was Shgúndi ("Shquindy") and he was a member of the Raven moiety and of the Teeyhittaan clan. Tillie Paul was a teacher with Sheldon Jackson
's Presbyterian
mission among the Tlingit, later Sheldon Jackson College
. William and his brothers all also attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
.
William and his brother Louis Paul
(1887-1956) are considered foundational members of the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and in the 1920s extended its presence to every Native village in southeast Alaska. The organization pressed for voting rights, desegregation, and social services, as well as advancing the first Tlingit and Haida land claims in Alaska. William Paul served several times as the ANB's Grand President and Grand Secretary.
William Paul was the first Alaska Native to become an attorney, the first to be elected to Alaska's House of Representatives, and the first to serve as an officer in the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs
. He helped draft the legislation to adopted Alaska's flag in 1927. He played a major role in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(ANCSA) of 1971.
His first run for the House in 1922/1923 was challenged legally and became an ultimately successful test case on citizenship rights of Indians to vote and hold office. Paul was defeated in his third run for the seat, in 1928, partly because of accusations that he had received payments from the salmon canning industry that he had vilified repeatedly in print.
He ran unsuccessfully for the office of territorial attorney general in 1932.
In the 1950s Paul brought an important land-claims test case, Tee-Hit-Ton vs. U.S., on behalf of his own Tlingit clan, which was unsuccessful but which laid the groundwork for the later ANCSA.
William Paul died in Seattle, Washington
, on March 4, 1977.
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. He was known as a leader in the Alaska Native Brotherhood.
William Lewis Paul was born in Tongass village in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, the second child of Louis Francis Paul (a.k.a. Pyreau) and Matilda ("Tillie") Kinnon Paul (Tamaree), a Tlingit couple with Scots and French ancestry as well. William's Tlingit name was Shgúndi ("Shquindy") and he was a member of the Raven moiety and of the Teeyhittaan clan. Tillie Paul was a teacher with Sheldon Jackson
Sheldon Jackson
Sheldon Jackson was a Presbyterian missionary who also became a political leader. During this career he travelled about 1 million miles and established over 100 missions and churches in the Western United States. He is best remembered for his extensive work during the final quarter of the 19th...
's Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
mission among the Tlingit, later Sheldon Jackson College
Sheldon Jackson College
Sheldon Jackson College was a small private college located on Baranof Island in Sitka, Alaska, United States. Founded in 1878, it was the oldest institution of higher learning in Alaska and maintained a historic relationship with the Presbyterian Church. The college was named in honor of Rev...
. William and his brothers all also attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
.
William and his brother Louis Paul
Louis Paul
Louis Paul was an American short story writer, and novelist.He corresponded with John Steinbeck.His work appeared in American Mercury Esquire,...
(1887-1956) are considered foundational members of the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and in the 1920s extended its presence to every Native village in southeast Alaska. The organization pressed for voting rights, desegregation, and social services, as well as advancing the first Tlingit and Haida land claims in Alaska. William Paul served several times as the ANB's Grand President and Grand Secretary.
William Paul was the first Alaska Native to become an attorney, the first to be elected to Alaska's House of Representatives, and the first to serve as an officer in the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
. He helped draft the legislation to adopted Alaska's flag in 1927. He played a major role in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, commonly abbreviated ANCSA, was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 23, 1971, the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve the long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in...
(ANCSA) of 1971.
His first run for the House in 1922/1923 was challenged legally and became an ultimately successful test case on citizenship rights of Indians to vote and hold office. Paul was defeated in his third run for the seat, in 1928, partly because of accusations that he had received payments from the salmon canning industry that he had vilified repeatedly in print.
He ran unsuccessfully for the office of territorial attorney general in 1932.
In the 1950s Paul brought an important land-claims test case, Tee-Hit-Ton vs. U.S., on behalf of his own Tlingit clan, which was unsuccessful but which laid the groundwork for the later ANCSA.
William Paul died in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, on March 4, 1977.
Sources
- Drucker, PhilipPhilip DruckerPhilip Drucker was an American anthropologist who specialized in Native American peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America.In the 1940s he worked for the Bureau of American Ethnology in Washington, D.C.-Bibliography:...
(1958) The Native Brotherhoods: Modern Intertribal Organizations on the Northwest Coast. (Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin no. 168.) Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
- Haycox, Stephen W. (1986) "William Paul, Sr., and the Alaska Voters' Literacy Act of 1925." Alaska History, vol. 2, pp. 17-37.
- Haycox, Stephen W. (1992) "Tee-Hit-Ton and Alaska Native Rights." In: Law for the Elephant, Law for the Beaver: Essays in the Legal History of the North American West, ed. by John McLaren, Hamar Foster, and Chester OrloffChester OrloffChester Lloyd "Chet" Orloff is a historian, writer and professor in Portland, Oregon, called "one of [Oregon's] favorite history teachers" by The Oregonian.-Early life:...
. Regina, Saskatchewan: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina.
- Haycox, Stephen (1994) Biography of William Lewis Paul in: Haa Kusteeyí, Our Culture: Tlingit Life Stories, ed. by Nora Marks DauenhauerNora Marks DauenhauerNora Marks Dauenhauer is an American poet and short-story writer and a scholar of the language and traditions of the Tlingit aboriginal nation in Alaska, of which she is a member...
and Richard DauenhauerRichard DauenhauerRichard Dauenhauer is an American poet and translator who has married into, and become an expert on, the Tlingit nation of southeastern Alaska. His wife is the Tlingit poet and scholar Nora Marks Dauenhauer. He won an American Book Award for Russians in Tlingit America: The Battles of Sitka, 1802...
, pp. 503-524. (Classics of Tlingit Oral Literature, vol. 3.) Seattle: University of Washington Press.
- Paul, William L., Sr. (1971) "The Real Story of the LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
Totem." Alaska Journal, summer 1971, pp. 2-16.
- Philp, Kenneth (1981) "The New Deal and Alaska Natives, 1936-1945." Pacific Historical Review, Fall 1981, pp. 309-329.