Essay on Protecting Alaska's Native Population--With Federal Records

Over the weekend while doing some homework, I stumbled across a very interesting article entitled, “Protecting Alaska’s Native Population—With Federal Records,” by Thomas E. Wiltsey. Originally published in The Record in 1995, but now available online via the National Archives and Records Administration-Pacific Alaska Region, Anchorage website, this essay makes some great points about the valuable sources archives hold for Alaska’s Native peoples. Archival records serve as evidence of traditional land claims, for pension applications, for genealogy, for village histories, and much much more. I invite readers to look over this essay and offer their thoughts. I think the essay does a great job of explaining the value of archival sources and encouraging Alaska Natives to use these great resources.