Archives at the Walter Soboleff building to be named after Native rights attorney, lawmaker

The Sealaska Heritage Institute announced today that it will name the archives facility at the Walter Soboleff Center after a Tlingit Native rights figure.

William L. Paul Sr. was the state’s first Alaska Native attorney and first Alaska Native legislator. He was active in fighting against school segregation, and for the citizenship rights of Natives and their right to vote. Paul was also instrumental in getting the federal government to extend rights granted under the Indian Reorganization Act to Alaska Natives. The act is credited with fundamentally changing the government’s relationship with Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

The Walter Soboleff building is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

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