Sealaska - Collections - William Paul

William Paul, Jr. William Lackey Paul was born in Ketchikan AK, 1911, the first child of William Lewis Paul and Frances Lackey Paul. He grew up in Southeast Alaska, then attended the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating from the School of Law in 1939. His law school thesis was on, what else, Native Land Claims. This helped shape the thinking of his father, William Paul, Sr., and his brother, Fred Paul.

He returned to Alaska in time for the Wrangell potlatch of 1940, at which he took many photos. He also traveled to the other villages in order to document in photography the then-new Civilian Conservation Corps carving projects. He immediately got involved with the land claims movement and the Alaska Native Brotherhood, of which he was secretary for some years. In 1953, the family moved to Seattle. I was two at that time and my memories of Alaska for many years were shaped more by my father’s photography than any actual experience of it.

I’m not sure where or when my father’s love for photography began. We had a dark room at our house with an enlarger, a print making machine, and developing chemicals (lots of fun for a young boy). I am somewhat spoiled by always having a good photo history of family. Dad’s Alaska collection went way beyond family. It includes landscapes, industry, aerial shots, weddings, documents, as well as ANB/ANS people and about 900 of Alaska Native artifacts. And, oh yes, flowers. He loved flowers. The format he used was large 3x5 negatives, 35m black and white, and there are about 1000 kodachrome color slides.

After settling in Seattle my father worked for twelve years as a King County civil prosecutor. His last big case for the county was a tax case against the Boeing Company, which he won, but a win against the largest company in the northwest cost him his job politically. His last legal work for Native Alaskans, and in life, was to incorporate the 13^th Region Corporation. William L. Paul Jr. passed away in 1974.

His photo collection rested in a dark attic for 21 years. Shortly after my Uncle Fred’s death in 1994 the Paul family had a Tlingit naming ceremony in Seattle. My father’s name was tsu-Xoog-eesh. That name went to my oldest son, Justin. I received the name goo-nuX-nusti. It was then that I began working with my father’s photography.

Ben Paul My hope to properly archive the photos and negatives has brought me to the point of sharing some of them with you, for your enjoyment, for our history, and for the purpose of identification. My father died a little young for a Paul. The notes he left are incomplete. I missed my chance to confer with him about these things. But not so with you. I would appreciate any help you could lend to me and to my father’s collection.

Gunalcheesh, Ben Paul

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