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Central Council Historical Timeline



  • 1786 - First known extended contact with Tlingit's.
  • 1867 - Alaska was purchased.
  • 1884 - The "Organic Act of 1884".
  • 1887 - The "General Allotment Act".
  • 1897 - The Alaskan Gold Rush began.


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  • 1900 - The "Carter Code".
  • 1902 - Tongass National Forest was established.
  • 1906 - The Native Allotment Act.
  • 1912 - Alaska became a territory with a two house legislature.


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  • 1922 - W.L. Paul, Sr., successfully defended Charlie Jones.
  • 1924 - The "Alexander Fish Bill".
  • 1926 - W.L. Paul, Sr., was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives.
  • 1929 - The rights of native children to attend public schools was established.
  • 1934 - The Indian Reorganization Act.



  • 1935 - Jurisdictional Act was successfully introduced to Congress.
  • 1935 to 1940 - President David Morgan.
  • 1936 - The IRA was amended at the request of the ANB and extended to Alaska.
  • 1939 - The ANB organized the Central Council and elected Andrew Hope as president.
  • 1940 to 1966 - President Andrew Percy Hope.
  • 1945 - Anti-Discriminiation Act was passed.
  • 1946 - Mt. Edgecumbe High School was opened in Sitka.
  • 1959 - Alaska officially became the 49th state of the U.S.A.


  • 1965 - The Jurisdictional Act of 1935 was amended at the request of the Central Council.
  • 1966 - The first meeting of the Alaska Federation of Natives took place in Anchorage.
  • 1966 to 1967 - President Ted Denny.
  • 1967 to 1972 - President John Borbridge, Jr.
  • 1968 - The U.S. Court of Claims awarded Tlingit and Haida people $7.5 million.
  • 1971 - The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act became law.
  • 1972 to 1976 - President Clarence Jackson, Sr.
  • 1976 to 1980 - President Raymond E. Paddock, Jr.
  • 1978 - The Indian Child Welfare Act was adopted by Congress.


  • 1980 to 1984 - President Andrew John Hope, Jr.
  • 1982 - The Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian nations united in a celebration of their cultures.
  • 1984 - The Andrew Hope Building was completed.
  • 1984 to present - President Ed Thomas.
  • 1993 - The Central Council was taken off the list of federally recognized tribes.
  • 1994 - Congress affirms Central Council's position that the Council could not be deleted from the list.

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