Guide to the Alice E. Brown papers
1965-1973
Collection number: HMC-1060.
Creator: Brown, Alice E.
Title: Alice E. Brown papers.
Dates: 1965-1973.
Volume of collection: 5.0 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials in English.
Collection summary: Papers of a member of the Alaska Federation of Natives’ Board of Directors and advocate for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
Biographical note:
Alice Elissa Brown was born on May 11, 1912 in Kenai, Alaska and was a Kenaitze tribal member. She was heavily involved in defending the rights of Alaska Natives and disenfranchised groups in Alaska. Examples of her involvement include her position on the Alaska Federation of Natives’ (AFN) Board of Directors and as chairman of the Alaska Native Political Education Committee. In addition to being active in the AFN, she was also a representative for the Kenaitze Indian Association and a member of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Cook Inlet Native Association, the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indians, and Anchorage Democratic Club. Her public service also included Anchorage and state committees such as the Rural Affairs Commission, Greater Anchorage Area Borough Advisory Health Board, Alaska state sponsored Land Claims Taskforce and more. Alice E. Brown worked diligently on behalf of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) that preserved Alaska Native land rights. ANCSA was signed into law December 18, 1971. Alice Brown passed away in 1973.
Collection description:
A majority of her collection pertains to the organizations of which she was a member and her work to protect Alaska Native land rights. The collection has three series: organization and committee records, correspondence, and Alaska Native land rights legislation and research files. The organization and committee records series contains materials such as meeting notes, convention materials, articles of incorporation, resolutions, and publications produced by the organization or committee. The correspondence series contain correspondence related to her work on Alaska Native land rights. A majority of the letters are addressed to or forwarded to Alice Brown or the AFN Board of Directors. In addition, there are letters from organizations and committees sent out to their membership. Alaska Native Land Rights legislation and research files contain materials Alice Brown collected in her research, such as newspaper clippings, reports, and drafts of ANCSA federal and state legislation.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged into three series. Organization and committee series is divided into two subseries: Alaska Federation of Natives files and other organization and committee files. AFN files are in rough chronological order. Other organization and committee records are in alphabetical order by organization. Correspondence files are arranged in rough chronological order by year. Alaska Native Land Rights legislation and research files are separated into two groups and are in rough chronological order therein: legislation and research files.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: The collection contains materials authored or created by organizations and individuals other than Alice Brown. The Archives does not hold copyright to these materials.
Preferred citation: Alice E. Brown papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Works used in preparation of inventory:
Arnold, Robert D., Janet Archinald, Margie Bauman, Nancy Yaw Davis, Robert A. Frederick, Paul Gaskin, John Havelock, Gary Holthaus, Chris McNeil, Thomas Richards, Jr., Howard Rock, and Rosita Worl. “Alaska Native Land Claims: Chapter 17, Proposed Legislation,” on Alaskool, http://www.alaskool.org/projects/landclaims/LandClaims_Unit4_Ch17.htm (accessed June 3, 2010).
CIRI Foundation. “CIRI spotlight: Alice E. Brown.” Raven’s Circle (May 2010), https://www.ciri.com/pdfs/ravens-circle/2010/CIRI_RavensCircle_201005.pdf (accessed September 8, 2010).
Indexes: Three indexes to the correspondence in the collection have been created. The first is an index to the correspondence by author, the second by recipient, and the third a listing by date.
Acquisition note: The collection was deposited and a deed of gift was signed by Rebecca Lyon, granddaughter of Alice E. Brown, in December 2009.
Processing information: This collection was arranged and described by Mariecris Gatlabayan in 2010. Funding for the detailed processing of the Alice E. Brown collection was provided by The CIRI Foundation (TCF).
The Alice E. Brown papers arrived grouped together in envelopes on which she described the contents. Most of the materials were generally described in two ways. The first type of description relates the organization/committee to which the papers relate. The second type of description identified files that were correspondence. Records that fell outside of these categories were research materials such as draft legislation and publications. These general categories were maintained. Papers were removed from the envelopes and placed in acid free folders. Descriptions on the envelopes were transcribed onto the folder. When an envelope had no description, a descriptive folder title was created. Some publications affected with mold were deaccessioned and destroyed, as were personnel records, financial statements, and publications with no annotations. For a bibliography of these materials, please contact us.
Container list:
Series 1: Organization and committee papers; 1966-1971. 3.0 cubic feet. Papers created and collected by Alice Brown as part of her participation in organizations and committees.
Series 1: Organization and committee papers. Subseries 1a: Alaska Federation of Natives files; 1967-1971. 1.75 cubic feet. Materials in this subseries include meeting minutes, handwritten notes, and meeting materials discussed during the meeting. Meeting materials include policies, newsletters, reports, constitutions, bylaws, and correspondence mailed to or forwarded to the AFN Board of Directors or AFN members. Folder titles were taken from Alice Brown’s own labels. If there was no label, a descriptive title was provided. More AFN related materials can be found throughout other series in the collection.
| Box/Folder | Folder title | Description | Date |
| 1/1 | 1966 statewide AFN Statewide Conference report | 1966 | |
| 1/2 | Acknowledgement of Brown’s $10 donation to AFN | 1967 | |
| 1/3 | Minutes 1967 Statewide meeting | September and October meeting minutes and materials. Annual AFN convention agenda and report. | 1967 |
| 1/4 | AFN constitution and Articles of Incorporation, 1967-1970 | 1967-1970 | |
| 1/5 | 1968 AFN convention, etc. | Agenda, resolutions passed, reports, and Alice Brown’s handwritten notes. | 1968 |
| 1/6-1/7 | October 1969 AFN statewide | AFN statewide convention position papers and reports. Includes reports, statements made before Committee on the Interior and Insular Affairs, and a list of potential village representation | 1969 |
| 1/8 | Board meetings on March 28-29-30, 1969 | March board meeting minutes and newsletters. Includes Federation Footnotes newsletters from April and May and correspondence dating back to 1967. | 1967-1969 |
| 1/9 | Board Meetings May 15-16-17, 1969 | May board meeting minutes. Includes correspondence. | 1969 |
| 2/1 | My notes on board meeting minutes, etc. | Alice Brown’s handwritten meeting notes. | 1969 July, 1970 December-1971 January |
| 2/2 | AFN Board meeting Jan. 8 1970 | January meeting materials. Includes correspondence, AFN and government reports, budgets, and contracts. | 1970 |
| 2/3 | AFN Board meeting Jan. 8 1970 continued | Press releases, January board meeting agenda, AFN memorandums, October 5 board meeting minutes, Federation Footnotes newsletter (October 1969), and AFN reports. | 1969 |
| 2/4 | AFN Board meeting Jan. 8, 1970 continued | Proposals and legal briefs regarding the State of Alaska vs. Stewart L. Udall, (Secretary of the Interior) and the Native Village of Nenana. | 1970 |
| 2/5 | AFN Board meeting Jan. 8, 1970 continued | June 1970 Board of Directors’ meeting minutes, correspondence, position papers, AFN personnel policy, On-the-Job-Training program papers, and Alaska Native organizations’ resolutions to ANCSA. | 1970 |
| 2/6 | August 1970 AFN business | Presentation and reports regarding AFN education program. Includes: “Report on the second Indian education conference,” by Juanita Corwin, administrative assistant to Eben Hopson; “Presentation to the second national Indian education conference,” by Eben Hopson; “Boarding home program meeting, Fairbanks, Alaska;” and a first draft of the “Educational specification for Fairbanks dormitory,” prepared by Division of School Facilities, Knute H. Lee, Chief. | 1970 |
| 2/7-2/8 | AFN 1970 convention | AFN convention minutes, correspondence, and reports. Includes “Outline of Proposed House Bill to settle Alaska Native Land Claims” and a supplement to AFN Ford Foundation grant. | 1970 |
| 2/9 | 1970 AFN statewide convention | AFN convention schedule and correspondence. Includes: Eben Hopson’s Executive Director’s Report; correspondence to members of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, the AFN board, and Eben Hopson; and Fairbanks Native Association’s recommended changes to ANCSA bill. | 1970 |
| 2/10 | Aug 3-4-5, 1970 board meetings | August and July Board of Directors’ meeting materials and minutes. Includes proposed amendments to ANCSA bill. | 1970 |
| 3/1 | AFN board meeting March 23-24-1970 | January and March Board of Directors meeting minutes and materials. Includes: Alaska Area Native Health Services budget proposal and report of services; Annual NCAI convention (hosted in Anchorage), flyer and correspondence; “Outline for a Filmstrip on Native Alaskan Land Claims: Deadline for Justice” by Mark Harris; memorandum regarding AFN administrative structure; AFN executive director job description; March 23, 1970 AFN financial report; and Cultural Heritage Project progress report (March 1970). | 1970 |
| 3/2 | December 5, 1970 Board meeting, re. info. | Board of Directors’ December meeting minutes and materials. Includes: “Memorandum on Legislation: Comparative analysis of AFN bills, S. 3041, and the Senate bill, S. 1830;” an annotated copy of the “The Alaska plan;” correspondence and memos; 1970 AFN convention resolutions; Area board of Health meeting agenda, undated; and AFN’s “Director’s Charge, Fiscal Year-1971.” | 1969-1971 |
| 3/3 | My notes on some Board meetings | Hand written notes from the 1971 AFN convention; 1970 June, July, and October Board of Directors’ meetings; November 1971 Board of Directors’ meeting; and 1970 August and September AFN personnel meetings. | 1970-1971 |
| 3/4 | AFN Board Feb. 1971 meeting | Correspondence and AFN finance and personnel committee papers. | 1971 |
| 3/5 | April 24, 1971 AFN Board meeting | Correspondence, AFN executive director’s testimony and statements before state and federal committees, and Board of Directors’ March meeting minutes. | 1971 |
| 3/6 | Oct. 8-9-10, 1971 AFN Statewide Convention Fairbanks and Anchorage | Correspondence (a majority of which is Rural Affairs Commission correspondence and list of participants). Alaska state bill status reports 1971-1972. | 1971-1972 |
| 3/7 | Oct. 8-9-10, 1971 AFN Statewide Convention Fairbanks and Anchorage continued | Annotated ANCSA Senate and House bills. Recommended edits to AFN ANCSA bill and AFN job descriptions. | 1971 |
| 4/1 | Oct. 8-9-10, 1971 AFN Statewide Convention Fairbanks and Anchorage continued | Correspondence regarding ANCSA, education, and protection of marine life legislation. Also includes NCAI correspondence forwarded to AFN Board of Directors. | 1971 |
| 4/2 | Oct. 8-9-10, 1971 AFN Statewide Convention Fairbanks and Anchorage continued. | AFN tentative annual conference program, job descriptions, and correspondence preparing for when ANCSA would be passed. Includes: “Money: A white man’s tool to protect your land,” by the AFN Finance Committee and Mike Gravel’s letter to AFN members outlining options for “Alaska Native Land Claims Bill.” | 1971 |
| 4/3-4/4 | November 10, 1971 AFN board [of directors] meeting | October and November Board of Directors meeting minutes and materials. Includes: October 1971 annual convention minutes and message from AFN president, Donald. R. Wright; James W. Thomas’s speech before 1971 convention; executive director’s (Harry E. Carter) 1971 report; “Preparing for the Alaska Native Land Claims settlement” paper submitted by the Alaska Federation of Natives charitable trust to AFN 1971 convention; “Report to the Board of Alaska Federation of Natives: AFN Housing Program” by project director, Michael Dozette; resolutions passed at AFN’s annual convention; recommendation of counsel to the White House; “Proposed investment criteria and investment management administration prepared for the use of Alaska Federation of Natives and the Regional Native Associations” prepared by A. Lee Atherton, Jr., Yale Gifford, John D. Sharp, and Karl M. Shelton; correspondence regarding land selection; and ANCSA House and Senate reports. | 1971 |
| 4/4 | November 1971 AFN business | Correspondence and job descriptions. Includes “A view of the Native Land Claims issue” by Charles Konigsberg. | 1971 |
| 4/5 | AFN’s AEB; 6th annual convention, 1971, Fairbanks | AFN program with written messages from convention attendees and AFN employees. | undated |
| 4/6 | Blank membership applications | undated |
Series 1: Organizations and Committees. Subseries 1b: Other organizations and committees files; 1967-1971. 1.25 cubic feet. Materials in this subseries includes meeting minutes, handwritten notes, newsletters, reports, constitutions, bylaws, and correspondence mailed to or forwarded to the varying organizations in which Alice Brown participated. Descriptions in quotes are descriptions transcribed from the envelope in which the papers arrived at the Archives. Files are arranged alphabetically by organization name and in rough chronological order therein.
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 4/7 | Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood: bylaws. | 1968 |
| 4/8 | Alaska State Land Claims Task Force: Land Task Force Drafting Committee Hearing, December 6, 1967, McKay Building, Anchorage, Alaska transcription. | 1967 |
| 4/9 | Alaska State Land Claims Task Force: “Minutes of the drafting committee, land task force, Dec. 7, 1967: Mc building,” drafting committee hearing transcription. | 1967 |
| 4/10 | Alaska State Land Claims Task Force: “My minutes of Jan. 1968 Juneau meeting Task Force.” Includes both January and February meeting notes. | 1968 |
| 4/11 | Alaska State Land Claims Task Force: “Notes on Board and Taskforce meetings in Juneau, March, Feb 1969; Anchorage Board meeting May, July 1969” meeting notes. Includes AFN Board of Directors’ meeting minutes and materials from May and July. | 1968-1969 |
| 5/1-2 | Alaska State Land Claims Task Force: “1969 March Board and Task Force meeting in Juneau” meeting materials and notes. Includes AFN board of directors’ meeting minutes and materials from March. | 1969 |
| 5/3 | Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska: reports and newsletters. | 1968-1969 |
| 5/4 | Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska: meeting minutes, reports, letter to members, and John Borbridge’s (president of organization) statement before the subcommittee on Indian Affairs of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. | 1968-1969 |
| 5/5 | Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska: Newsletters and John Borbridge’s speech presented at the Eleventh Annual Convention, Alaska Chapter of American Institute of Architects. | 1969, 1971 |
| 5/6 | Cook Inlet Native Association: annotated bylaws and articles of incorporation drafts, newsletter, correspondence, and Donald R. Wright (president of organization) essay. | 1967-1968 |
| 5/7 | Democratic club: “Democratic club: 1967-1968.” Materials include: correspondence; two June issues of The Democratic; papers regarding her appointment as poll watcher and counter and as a South Central Democratic District Convention delegate. | 1967 |
| 5/8 | Democratic organization materials: reports, newsletters and correspondence. | 1967 |
| 6/1 | Kenaitze Indian Association: resolutions, position papers, correspondence, handwritten notes regarding land rights representation in ANCSA bill. Kenaitze Indian Tribe of the Kenai peninsula, Alaska constitution. | 1967-1970 |
| 6/2 | Kenaitze Indian Association: “Kenai Moose Range” related publications. | 1966-1969 |
| 6/3-6/4 | National Congress of American Indians (NCAI): “American Indians-United and NCAI papers.” Includes NCAI resolutions, correspondence, position papers, and NCAI 1968 convention program. | 1968-1969 |
| 6/5 | National Congress of American Indians: “Resolutions NCAI,” and bills. | 1968-1969 |
| 6/6 | National Congress of American Indians: Proposal Amendments to NCAI Constitution. Tatitlek constitution and bylaws. American Indians, United bylaws. Also includes correspondence. | 1939, 1955-1971 |
| 6/7 | National Congress of American Indians: NCAI Legislative Report, vol. II, no. 3; memos sent out to NCAI membership; and 1969 NCAI convention schedule. | 1969 |
Series 2: Correspondence; 1966-1971. 0.5 cubic feet. Correspondence in this series was addressed to or forwarded to Alice Brown as part of her work on the Alaska Native rights. A majority of the records are letters related to her work with the Alaska Federation of Natives. In addition to letters, correspondence includes newsletters, meeting minutes, and literature sent to Alice Brown via mail. The original groupings in which Alice Brown kept and labeled her papers were retained and reflected in the folder title. Three indexes have been created and are arranged by author of the letter, recipient/addressee, and by date. Folders are in rough chronological order.
| Box/
Folder |
Folder title | Description | Dates |
| 7/1 | Cecil’s letters and letters | Correspondence addressed to Alice Brown related to ANCSA and Joe Josephson’s election. Correspondents include: Joe Josephson, AK legislature; Ted Stevens, U.S. Senator; Joseph M. Rothstein, Mike Gravel’s administrative assistant; and Mike Gravel, U.S. Representative. | 1969-1970 |
| 7/2 | Cecil’s letters and letters continued | Correspondence addressed to or forwarded to Alice Brown related to ANCSA, job centers in Alaska, Kenaitze land claims, and Anchorage clothing cooperative. Correspondents include: Edgar Paul Bokyo; A.G. Hiebert, KTVA; Nick Kompkoff; Greater Anchorage Area Community Action Agency; Mike Gravel, U.S. representative; John Fitzgerald; and Emil Notti, AFN president. | 1967-1970 |
| 7/3 | Cecil’s letters and letters continued | Correspondence sent to NCAI members. Cecil Barnes and Alice Brown’s letters to the Anchorage Daily News editor. Correspondents include: Donald R. Wright, AK NCAI vice president and Cook Inlet Native Association president; Wendel Chino, NCAI president; Edgar Paul Bokyo; and Cecil Barnes, AFN Board of Directors. | 1966-1969 |
| 7/4 | Letters from AFN | Correspondence addressed or forwarded to board members, draft legislation, and updates on AFN activities. Correspondents include: Emil Notti, AFN president; Walter A. Soboleff, Alaska Native Brotherhood; and Joli Morgan, Alaska VISTA volunteer associate program. | 1967-1968 |
| 7/5 | Letters sent to me, etc. | Letters addressed to or forwarded to Alice Brown regarding land claims and 1968 AFN convention. Correspondents include: Whitney Shoemaker, Assistant to the President; Ernest Gruening, United States Senator; members of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs; Walter J. Hickel, Alaska Governor; and Emil Notti, AFN president. | 1967-1969 |
| 7/6 | Letters sent to me, etc. continued | Correspondence addressed to Alice Brown regarding her work with AFN on ANCSA and travel receipts. Includes Kenaitze Indian Association meeting minutes taken January 7, 1968. Correspondents include: Ernest Gruening, United States Senator; Walter J. Hickel, Alaska Governor; and Emil Notti, AFN president. | 1967-1968 |
| 7/7 | Letters sent to me, etc. continued | Letters Alice E. Brown wrote to Anchorage Daily News editor and correspondence regarding Alaska Native Claims. Correspondents include Emil Notti, AFN president and Howard W. Pollock who filled out a “Federation’s Candidate Questionnaire.” | 1966 |
| 7/8 | Bob Willard, Chairman. His Alaska plan re. employment | Correspondence from Bob Willard, Alaska Plan Committee Chairman, regarding his plan to increase employment of underrepresented groups in Alaska’s construction industry. Includes copy of the plan. | 1968-1970 |
| 7/9 | AFN correspondence 1968-1970 | Correspondence Alice Brown received while on the Alaska State Land Claims Task Force. Correspondents include William L. Hensley, Alaska state Representative. | 1968-1970 |
| 7/10 | AFN correspondence 1968-1970 continued | Correspondence Eben Hopson, AFN executive director, sent or forwarded to Board of Directors. | 1969-1970 |
| 7/11 | AFN correspondence 1968-1970 continued | Correspondence sent to Board of Directors. Includes: “Alaska Federation of Natives: A statement of purpose” by Emil Notti; June issues of the Federation Footnotes newsletter; September AFN Board of Directors’ meeting minutes; and Peter A.A. Berle’s recommendations for 1969 House hearings on ANCSA. | 1969 |
| 7/12 | AFN correspondence 1968-1970 continued | Correspondence addressed or forwarded to the Board of Directors. A majority of the correspondence and materials relate to the AFN personnel committee. Materials include September 3, 1969 Federation Footnote newsletter. | 1967-1970 |
| 7/13 | 1969, etc. letters | Correspondence addressed or forwarded to Alice Brown that relate to her work on the Rural Affairs Commission and ANCSA. Correspondents include Adam John and Mike Gravel, U.S. Representative. | 1968-1971 |
| 7/14 | 1969, etc. letters continued | Correspondence forwarded to Board of Directors. A majority of the correspondence came from Nels A. Anderson, Jr., AFN treasurer. Includes April 1971 AFN Board of Director meeting minutes. | 1971 |
| 7/15 | 1969, etc. letters continued | Correspondence relating to Alice Brown’s work on Rural Affairs Commission and the AFN convention recall in 1971. Also includes Nels A. Anderson Jr.’s correspondence that was forwarded to AFN Board of Directors. | 1971 |
Series 3: Alaska Native Land Rights legislation and research; 1964-1971. 1.5 cubic feet. This series contains draft and working drafts of the bill that eventually became the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and Alice Brown’s research materials concerning Alaska Native Land Rights.
Series 3: Alaska Native Land Rights legislation and research. Subseries 3a: Legislation files; 1964-1970. 0.8 cubic feet. Draft federal and state legislation. Folders are in rough chronological order.
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 8/1-8/2 | Federal working draft bills with accompanying correspondence. | 1964-1969 |
| 8/3-8/4 | Annotated Alaska State legislation and Alaska State Land Claims Task Force recommendations. | 1968 |
| 8/5-8/6 | Annotated federal working draft bills. | 1968-1969 |
| 8/7-8/8 | Federal working draft bills. | 1967-1969, 1971 |
| 9/1 | Federal working draft bills and comparative analysis report. | 1968-1970 |
| 9/2-9/3 | Federal House and Senate working draft bills with official edits. | 1969 |
| 9/4 | Federal Land Claims Legislation drafts. | Circa 1970 |
| 9/5-9/6 | Federal Senate Committee on the Interior and Insular affairs, 91st Congress draft legislation. | 1970 April 28 |
Series 3: Alaska Native Land Rights legislation and research. Subseries 3b: Research files; 1962-1971. 0.7 cubic feet. This series contains research materials related to Alaska Native Land Rights such as articles, previous legislation, reports, speeches, and books. Folders are in rough chronological order.
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 9/7 | Past legal acts and decisions related to Native American land rights. | 1936-1969 |
| 10/1 | “The Writers’ Reader: Honors collection in creative writing” packet. T.D. Allen, instructor, creative writing class. Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico. | 1962-1966 |
| 10/2 | Collected papers, speeches, newspapers, and pamphlets in support of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and/or related to education and health. | 1966-1969 |
| 10/3-10/9 | Newspaper clippings related to Alaska Native Claims Settlement. | 1967-1971 |
| 10/10 | Josephy Jr., Alvin M. “The American Indian and the Bureau of Indian Affairs-1969: A study, with recommendations.” Bureau of Indian Affairs. | 1969 |
| 10/11 | Howard W. Pollock Alaska Congressman: “Special Washington Report: Alaska Native Land Claims.” | 1970 April |