Sealaska Heritage publishes fifth graders' documentary on Walter Soboleff

A Juneau Presbyterian church founded for Alaska Native worshippers was shut down in 1962 with no warning to its congregation, just after its minister had ordered new pews for the building. That account, from church member Maxine Richert, anchors a documentary Sealaska Heritage Institute published about Ḵaajaaḵwtí Dr. Walter Soboleff.

"At the time that it closed, it was the USA Presbytery closed it. It wasn't the wish of the congregation," Richert said. "And Dr. Soboleff had just ordered 14 new pews. And then all of a sudden, it was just abruptly closed."

Fifth graders at Auke Bay Elementary School made the film with a Juneau-based filmmaker after learning that Nov. 14 is Walter Soboleff Day in Alaska and finding few classroom resources to explain why. The project fits a broader effort in Alaska to produce Native-centered history and civil rights materials for classrooms where existing curricula are thin. The students interviewed subjects in the Walter Soboleff Building, researched at the State Library, Archives and Museum, and viewed Soboleff's Chilkat robe, which the institute stores in its archives.

Interviewees in the film describe Soboleff's role in fighting for Alaska Native land rights during the Alaska Native land claims era. They repeatedly describe him as a bridge between Native and non-Native people.

Soboleff was the first Alaska Native minister of a Protestant church in Alaska. The Juneau church was established in 1942, Richert said, and Soboleff was its first and only minister. He led it for 22 years. Richert said white neighbors asked to join after the church opened, and the Native congregation agreed. "So it became an integrated church," she said. In July 2022, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) agreed to make a formal apology and offer restitution for the harms of the closure.

The film reflects the accounts of Soboleff's family, congregation and friends. The Presbyterian Board of National Missions does not appear in it to explain the 1962 decision.

Rosita Worl, president of Sealaska Heritage Institute, an organization Soboleff helped create, described the advice he gave about criticism. "When somebody, you know, says something negative about you or has a conflict with you, he would say don't respond to them," Worl said. She said he counseled answering constructive criticism but ignoring irrational attacks, because responding would give them credibility.

Soboleff died at 102. Educator Aantukoo.aat Ronalda Cadiente-Brown closes the film by tying his life to the state observance. "It's now easy to understand why November 14th is is Dr. Walter Sobolev Day in Alaska. A lifetime of challenging work, all done with gentleness," she said.