William Martin, Xaawusteen, was born in Petersburg, Alaska. He is Tlingit of the Tsaagweidi clan, Eagle/Killerwhale. Martin served as the president of the Central Council Tlingit & Haida Tribes from 2007-2010. Prior to serving as president, Martin worked as an Operations Manager for Tlingit Haida Technology Industries from 2003-2005, a programmer for MVS mainframe systems, IBM and Affiliated Computer Corporation 1986-2003 and a customer service representative for hardware systems at IBM 1965-1986. Other offices that Martin has held include 1st and 5th Vice President of Central Council, President of the Juneau and San Francisco Tlingit & Haida Community Councils, Chair of both the Alaska State Suicide Prevention Council and the Intertribal Monitoring Association (ITMA), and as Alaska Area Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).