Guide to the Fred Paul papers
1966-1986
Collection number: HMC-0372.
Creator: Paul, Fred, 1914-1994.
Title: Fred Paul papers.
Dates: 1966-1986.
Volume of collection:8.0 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials in English.
Collection summary: Primarily materials relating to court cases involving the establishment of the North Slope Borough.
Biographical note:
Frederick Paul was born in Alameda, California. He came to Alaska as a child and graduated from Ketchikan High School in 1931. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1939, and received a Juris Doctor degree in 1940. He was admitted to the bar in Washington (1940), and to the Alaska bar (1941). He later became a member of the bars of the United States District Court for the Western and Eastern districts of Washington, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Claims, and the United States Supreme Court. He began private law practice in Seattle in 1947. One of the foremost authorities on Indian law and aboriginal title in the United States, Frederick Paul represented the North Slope Eskimos in the court case which established the North Slope Borough. He was twice nominated for the American College of Trial Lawyers Courageous Advocacy Award, and in 1985 he received the Seattle-King County Bar Association award for distinguished service to the legal profession and the public. He died in 1994.
Collection description:
The collection consists of a draft of Frederick Paul’s autobiography and records relating to his court cases. The court case records relate to Frederick Paul v. United States; Mobile Oil Corporation, et al. v. Local Boundary Commission et al. and the Arctic Slope Native Association, et al.; Frederick Paul v. Arctic Slope Native Association, et al., and to Frederick Paul’s appeal in the Alaska Supreme Court of the decision in Frederick Paul v. Arctic Slope Native Association, et al. Types of records include correspondence, legal briefs and memoranda, plaintiff and defense exhibits, court transcripts, audio cassette tapes of court proceedings, reference material, and other records.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged into four series:
Series 1: Then fight for it! autobiography draft
Series 2: Frederick Paul v. United States court case records
Series 3: Mobile Oil Corporation, et al. v. Local Boundary Commission, et al. and the Arctic Slope Native Association, et al. court case records
Series 4: Frederick Paul v. Arctic Slope Native Association, et al. court case records
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Collection materials not authored by Fred Paul may be subject to copyright restrictions.
Preferred citation: Fred Paul papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: The papers were donated to the Archives in 1990, 1993, and 1997. In 1991, Mr. Paul signed a deed of gift giving the materials to the Archives.
Processing information: This collection was originally arranged and described by Michele Wellck in 1996. The guide was updated with additional materials by Jeffrey Sinnott in 1998. The guide was reformatted to meet current standards by Arlene Schmuland in 2013.
Container list:
Series 1: Then fight for it! autobiography draft; 1985-1986. 0.2 cubic feet.
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 1/1 | Copy of typescript draft, pages 1-100 | 1986 |
| 1/2 | Copy of typescript draft, pages 101-250 | 1986 |
| 1/3 | Copy of typescript draft, pages 251-340 | 1986 |
| 1/4 | Copy of typescript draft, additional pages | 1985 |
Series 2: Frederick Paul v. United States court case records; 1966-1975. 4.0 cubic feet.
This series consists of records relating to Frederick Paul’s suit against the Federal Government to collect fees for his work on the Native Claims Settlement Act. Included are correspondence, plaintiff’s and defendant’s exhibits, legal briefs and memoranda, published and unpublished documents, newspapers clippings concerning issues related to natives and the Native Claims Settlement Act, and other similar types of records. There is an index to the plaintiff’s and defendant’s exhibits which has been scanned and linked in the list below. Documents are arranged by type.
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 1/5-22 | Chronological correspondence | 1966-1973 |
| 1/23 | Cumulative index to exhibits | undated |
| 1/24-4/19 | Exhibits | undated |
| 4/20-21 | Legal briefs, pleadings and memoranda | undated |
| 4/22-23 | Claims contract documents | undated |
| 4/24-27 | Unpublished documents | 1966-1975 |
| 4/28-29 | Published documents | 1966-1975 |
| 5/1-3 | Newspaper clippings | 1966-1975 |
Series 3: Mobile Oil Corporation, et al. v. Local Boundary Commission, et al. and the Arctic Slope Native Association, et al. court case records; 1968-1977. 0.8 cubic feet.
This series consists of records relating to Frederick Paul’s work as one of the attorneys in Mobile Oil Corp., et al. v. Local Boundary Commission, et al. and the Arctic Slope Native Association, et al. concerning the formation of the North Slope Borough. Included are correspondence and notes concerning attorney fees, affidavits, drafts of legal documents, appeals, motions, exhibits, papers concerning borough organization, report and studies, and other similar types of records. Documents are arranged by type.
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 5/4 | File A, correspondence and note concerning attorney’s fees | 1974-1975 |
| 5/5 | File B, attorney’s fees, affidavit of Charles Edwardsen | 1973 November 29 |
| 5/6 | File D, findings of fact and conclusion (rough draft material) | undated, 1971 |
| 5/7 | File E, study, “A long way from home: effects of public high schools on village children away from home.” | 1973 |
| 5/8 | File G, report, “Prehigher education in the unorganized borough: analysis and recommendations.” | 1974 |
| 5/9 | File J, cases and rules | 1973 |
| 5/10 | Correspondence | 1975-1976 |
| 5/11 | File L, Alaska Superior Court documents | 1974-1977 |
| 5/12 | File M, Appeal to the Superior Court on the merits | 1972 October 16 |
| 5/13 | File N, Motion for attorney’s fees (includes exhibits 1-13) | 1973-1974 |
| 5/14 | File P, briefs and correspondence re: attorney’s fees | 1973-1974 |
| 5/15 | File #XVII-5, Alaska Statutes re: borough organization and election districts | undated |
| 5/16 | File #XVII-21, borough organization, correspondence and reference materials | 1971-1973 |
| 5/17 | File #XVII-26(a), Superior Court and State of Alaska documents | 1972 April-June |
| 5/18-19 | File #XVII-27, official exhibits nos. 1-8 (incomplete) | 1968-1971 |
| 5/20 | File #XVII-29, miscellaneous briefs and documents | 1971-1972 |
| 5/21-22 | Transcript of meeting of the Local Boundary Commission regarding North Slope Borough incorporation | 1972 February 23 |
| 5/23 | Briefs | 1973 May-August |
| 5/24 | Clippings | 1972 March-June |
Series 4: Frederick Paul v. Arctic Slope Native Association, et al. court case records; 1974-1980. 3.0 cubic feet.
This series consists of records relating to Frederick Paul’s suit against to Arctic Slope Native Association to recover fees for his work relating to the formation of the North Slope Borough. Included are correspondence, transcripts of the trial proceedings, briefs and memoranda, exhibits and documents, reference materials, and other similar types of records. The exhibits include a history of the North Slope Borough with an index. There are also 20 audio cassette tapes of the trial proceedings. Documents are arranged by type.
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 6/1-3 | Correspondence and drafts of pleadings | 1974-1978 |
| 6/4-19 | Transcripts, volumes Ia-IVb | 1977 |
| 6/20 | Transcripts excerpts | 1977 |
| 6/21 | Deposition of Peter P. Three Stars | 1976 |
| 7/1-10 | Briefs and memoranda | 1977-1978 |
| 7/11-18 | Exhibits | 1966-1973 |
| 8/1-7 | Documents, books 1-7 | 1966-1969 |
| 8/8-10 | Reference material | 1972-1977 |
| 8/11 | Audio cassette tape, trial proceedings | undated |
| 8/12-13 | Alaska Supreme Court appeal correspondence and drafts of pleadings | 1977-1980 |
| 8/14-18 | Alaska Supreme Court appeal briefs | 1978, 1980 |
| 8/19 | Alaska Supreme Court appeal documents | 1974-1980 |
| 8/20-24 | Alaska Supreme Court appeal reference materials | undated |