Kaajaakwti Chair

Nation: Tlingit

Moiety: Yéil (Raven)

Clan: L’eeneidí (Dog Salmon)

Residence: Juneau, Alaska

Occupation: Associate Pastor of the Northern Lights Presbyterian Church in Juneau, Tlingit scholar, a recognized elder, and translator, specializing in Traditional oratory and story telling.

Present Positions Held: Member of the Juneau Lions Club, ANB Grand President Emeritus.

Past Positions Held: President of Kootznoowoo, Inc, director of Sealaska Corporation,  ANB Grand Camp President,  ANB Grand Camp Secretary, Historic Sites Commission for the State of Alaska as well as other state and federal commissions that serve to make policy regarding Alaska Native peoples. First Alaska Native to be nominated by former Governor Walter J.  Hickel to the State Board of Education, where he served as chairman.

Childhood: Born in the Tlingit village of Killisnoo on November 14, 1908. Dr. Soboleff comes from a prominent Angoon family. He grew up in Tenekee, speaking Tlingit and English, while surrounded by the sounds of German and Russian.

Parents: Father- Alexander (Sasha) Soboleff, one of the four children of the Reverend Father Ivan Soboleff of Killisnoo

Children: Janet, Sasha, Walter Jr., and  Ross

Education: Two honorary doctorate degrees, Doctor of Divinity from Dubuque University in 1952, and  Doctor of Humanities from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 1968, He was trained in traditional Tlingit worldview and cultural practices by his Tlingit elders and has also excelled in the Western educational system.

Comments: As Dr. Soboleff's  strong academic accomplishments indicate, future generations would benefit greatly from being immersed in a multilingual, multicultural educational environment to best achieve their goals and personal visions. His traditional reiteration of "Tlingit Protocols" is very popular in Southeast Alaska.

In 1997, the SHF Board of Trustees adopted language preservation and enhancement as its top strategic priority.   Dr. Soboleff, who grew up speaking Tlingit and English while surrounded by German and Russian speakers is a staunch advocate for this priority; of the language revitalization and preservation, given his first hand knowledge of the benefits of being in a multi-lingual environment.  

Dr. Soboleff's  Native Values - PFD format.