Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act - Sealaska Heritage Institute

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActPresented to:U.S. Senate StaffRosita Worl, Ph.D.Sealaska Heritage InstituteSeptember 23, 2009Based on research funded in part by a grant from the National Science FoundationFor more information contact Lee Kadinger at 907.586.9266 or lee.kadinger@sealaska.com1

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska is the aboriginal homeland of four majorcultural groups:•Inupiat & Yup’ik (Eskimo)•Unangan & Alutiiq (Aleut)•Athabaskan•Tlingit & Haida (Canadian Tsimshianmigrated to Alaska in the 1880s)Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 20092

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActContemporaryAlaska Nativeinstitutional formsand arrangementsdiffer from that ofother federallyrecognized tribes.This difference canbe attributed to thelegislation that resolved the Alaska Nativeaboriginal land claims with the United States.Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 20093

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActThe Treaty of Cession 1867:•Russia sold Alaskato United States•“Uncivilizedtribes” subject tolaws for aboriginaltribesRussian exchange copy of the Treaty ofCession, March 30, 1867. National Archives.4Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 2009

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActFoundation of Indian Laws Based on the“Marshal Trilogy”•John Marshall Supreme Court Decisionsestablished the following three principles:1. Aboriginal land (Johnson v. McIntosh1823)Tribes can only transfer aboriginaltitle to the federal government andnot individualsPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 20095

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act2. Federal trust responsibility (CherokeeNation v. Georgia 1831)Establishes trust relationshipCreates domestic dependentnations3. Political Status of Indian tribes(Worcester v. Georgia 1831)Recognizes inherent powers oftribesPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 20096

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActOrganic Act of 1884•Recognized Indian possessory rights•Indians or other persons shall not bedisturbed in the possession of any landsin their use and occupation or claimedby themPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 20097

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska Statehood Act of 1959•Disclaimed all rightand title to anyland by Indians,Eskimos, or Aleuts•Authorized Stateof Alaska to select103 million acresPresident Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law theAlaska Statehood Act, 1959.Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 20098

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska Natives Unite•In the face ofincreasing landloss and threatsto their huntingand fishingeconomy,Native tribalgroups began toorganizeregionalassociationsAlaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood GrandCamp Convention, 1951.Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 20099

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•The geographical boundaries between theregional entities generally followed theancient cultural and territorial divisionsPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200910

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Alaska Nativesunited underAFN in 1966 toseek a just andequitablesettlement ofaboriginal landclaimsCurrent board of directors of AFN.Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200911

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActFee Simple Title Versus Trust Lands•Alaska Natives break with the reservationmodel to settle their aboriginal land claims•Alaska Natives seek legislation to obtainfull control and fee-simple title of theirlands rather than lands held under trust bythe governmentPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200912

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971(ANCSA)Congressadopts a newmodel toextinguishaboriginal landclaims thatinclude thefollowing majorcomponents:Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200913

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Corporations:‣12 regional Alaska Native corporations(ANCs)Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200914

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣203 village corporations‣13 th regionEstablished for Natives who were notpermanent residents of AlaskaReceived pro rata share of financialsettlement, but did not receive landnor was it entitled to receive revenuesfrom mineral or timber developmentof the regional corporationsPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200915

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Land: Total of 45.5million acres to beconveyed underfee simple titlePresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200916

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣22 million acresSurface lands to village corporationsdivided on population basis except forSoutheast Alaska villagesSoutheast Alaska Indian villages allowedonly a single township or 23,040 acres. TheTlingit and Haida had received a $7.5 millionaward for federal withdrawals of 20 millionacres in Southeast Alaska.Five communities in Southeast Alaska didnot receive ANCSA lands referred to as“Landless” communitiesPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200917

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣16 million acresSurface and subsurface lands to sixregional corporations divided on totalacreage within each regionThese regions, Ahtna, Arctic Slope,Chugach, Cook Inlet, Doyon and NANA,each claimed large aboriginal land base,but had small populationsPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200918

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣2 million acresCemeteries and historical sitesFour Native urban corporations,formerly Native communities, but werepredominantly non-Native cities in1970sNative communities withpopulations less than 25 residentsreferred to as “Groups”Allotments which had been filedbefore ANCSAPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200919

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣After these distributions, any landremaining was allocated among all but the13 th regional corporations on the basis ofpopulation. This enabled all the 12 regionalcorporations to obtain some surface lands,which amounted to several hundredthousand acres in the case of the morepopulous regions. The regional corporationsalso received the subsurface lands of villagecorporations.Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200920

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActOnly remaining reservation in Alaskawas for the Tsimshian, who emigratedfrom Canada and were granted theAnnette Island reservation by Congressin 1891‣1.6 million acresFive regional corporations wereallowed to select 1.6 million acres inlieu of subsurface rights to lands in theNational Petroleum Reserve andvarious fish and wildlife refugesPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200922

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Capital:‣Payment of $963 million distributed toregional corporations on a per capitabasis for the extinguishment of allaboriginal claims‣The 13 regional corporations werethen required to distribute 50 percent tovillage corporations based on number oforiginal tribal shareholders and toindividual tribal shareholders or “atlarge” tribal shareholders not enrolled toa village corporation23Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 2009

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Enrollment:‣Secretary of Interior authorized toprepare a roll of all Natives who wereone-fourth degree or more AlaskaNatives and who were born on or beforethe date of enactment of ANCSA andwho were living on or before December18, 1971‣Both regional and village corporationsissued one hundred shares of stock toeach Native enrolled in their regionPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200924

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Enrollment:‣Approximately 27,000 Natives, whosepermanent homes were away from theirvillages, were enrolled only in regionalcorporations as “at-large tribalshareholders” and were not enrolled invillage corporations‣More than 78,000 Alaska Natives wereinitially enrolled as tribal shareholdersPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200925

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Subsistence:‣Subsistencehunting and fishingcontinues to befundamental toNative culture and isthe primary economyin rural AlaskacommunitiesPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200926

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣First AFN draft and Senate version bothincluded provisions to protect subsistence,but final bill extinguished “any aboriginalhunting or fishing rights that may exist”‣The Conference Committee report madeclear that Congress intended for theSecretary of Interior and the State of Alaskato protect subsistence‣The Secretary of Interior failed to initiateany action and the state’s legal regimeprecluded protection of Native subsistencePresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200927

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣Congress adopted a subsistencepriority for rural Alaskan, Native andnon-Natives, in 1980 within the AlaskaNational Interest Land Conservation Act(Public Law 96-487)‣ANILCA required the state to managefish and wildlife on federal landsconsistent with its provisions to protectsubsistence uses by rural residentsPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200928

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣The state failed to comply with ANILCA‣The federal government assumedmanagement of subsistence uses onfederal lands in 1990 and created a dualmanagement system for subsistencewhich continues todayPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200929

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Resource Sharing:‣ANCSA is unique in many aspects andone provision is the antithesis of profitmakingcorporations‣The concept of revenue sharing wasdeveloped by Native leaders to equalizethe resource revenues between thoseregions which were resource rich withthose which were resource poorPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200930

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣Section 7 (i) requires regionalcorporations to distribute 70 percent oftheir profits from mineral and timberdevelopment to other regionalcorporations‣A minimum of 50 percent of 7 (i)revenues must be distributed to villagecorporations and at-large tribalshareholdersPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200931

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200932

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣A total of $800 million 7(i) funds hasbeen distributed among the regionsfrom its initial implementation through2004‣The revenue sharing funds haveproven to be vital to the survival of manystruggling corporations‣One regional corporation facingbankruptcy leveraged a $10 million loanbased on anticipated 7 (i) revenuesPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200933

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActAssimilation•Congress wanted to avoid creatingreservations or “racially defined”organizations and supported corporationsas the vehicle to implement ANCSA•Congress rejected any possibility ofkeeping the enrollment open for AlaskaNatives born after 1971•Congress limited the restriction on the saleof ANCSA stock until 1991Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200934

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActRetribalization of ANCSA•Natives became alarmed that therestriction on the sale of stock that was toend in 1991 could lead to loss of land•They also came to realize that aspects ofANCSA conflicted with their traditionalcultural valuesPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200935

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•AFN went to Congress and secured theANCSA Amendments of 1987, commonlycalled the “1991 Amendments” (PL 100-241) that basically served to re-tribalizetheir corporationsPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200936

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Today fourregional ANCshave enrolledNatives born after1971 as tribalshareholder andmany providespecial benefits toEldersPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200938

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActCongressional Recognition of ANCs asTribes•Congress explicitly stated that ANCSA andthe 1991 Amendments are Indianlegislation enacted pursuant to its authorityunder the Constitution to regulate Indianaffairs•In the 1991 legislation, Congress declaredthat it was “not expressing an opinion onthe manner in which shareholders chooseto balance individual rights and communalrights.”Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200941

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Congress requires OMB and all federalagencies to consult and collaborate withANCs in the development of federal policiesthat impact on Native corporations and onthe same basis as Indian Tribal governmentsunder Executive Order 13175•Congress has enacted over 100 federalstatutes that define ANCs as tribes for specialstatutory purposes such as the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act25 U.S.C. 450b(b)Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200942

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Congress has also enacted a series oflegislative acts to provide special benefits toAlaska Natives including allowing ANCs‣to implement a tribal shareholderemployment preference‣to sell their Net Operating Lossesunder which they brought $426 millionin ANCSA coffers‣to authorize ANCs as eligible for SBA 8(a) programsPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200943

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActPerformance of ANCs•The financial performance of ANCs hasbeen varied. Some have tottered on thebrink of bankruptcy while a few have hadextraordinary success•A State of Alaska economist pointed outthe greatest significance of ANCs economiccontribution is that it represents newactivity in the state’s economy and accruesbenefits to the statePresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200944

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•A 2006 economic report of the 13 regionalcorporations and three Native villagecorporations reported the following:‣Revenues – $6.965 billion‣Dividends – $119.9 million‣Statewide Employment * – 15,467*‣Alaska Native Employment – 3,619‣Scholarships – $21.8 million‣Charitable Donations – $22.47 million*Average 2008 employment was 323,000Presentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200945

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•ANCs have become an economic andpolitical force bolstered by beneficialfederal policies and programs that havecontributed to their success• ANCs have a record of sharing theirresources and reinvesting their returns intheir tribal shareholders and communitiesPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200946

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska Native Tribes and Regional Tribal Non-Profits•Natives are also represented by tribes,regional tribal non-profit organizations andhousing and electrical authorities, andhealth organizationsPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200947

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Regional Tribal Non-Profit Organizations‣After the settlement of the Nativeclaims in 1971, the tribal non-profitsturned their full attention to providinggovernmental services‣They became quasi governmentsproviding a range of governmentalservices and advocating on a number ofpolitical fronts including subsistencehunting and fishingPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200948

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣With the exception of the Central Councilof Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska andthe Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope,the regional non-profits, housingauthorities, and health organizations arenot recognized as tribes‣They maintain a relationship with thefederal government as tribal organizationswith authority to contract to administerfederal governmental services subject tothe approval of the villages under PublicLaw 93-638 Indian Self-Determination ActPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200949

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•Alaska Native Tribes‣The government-to-governmentrelationship between the federalgovernment and tribes was not alteredby the enactment of ANCSA‣Over 200 tribes exist in Alaska, but theconveyance of lands to ANCs meant thattribes in Alaska were to be governmentswithout a land basePresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200950

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act‣The State of Alaska challenged thetribes’ power to levy taxes‣In 1998 the Supreme Court decided inAlaska v. Native Village of Venetie TribalGovernment that ANCSA lands did notconstitute Indian Country‣The tribes are united under the AlaskaIntertribal Council and continue tosafeguard their tribal statusPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200951

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska Native Institutional Development andChange•The traditional social organizations, such asclans and extended family social units,continue to play a central role in the culturaland ceremonial life of Alaska Natives as well asto contribute to the well being of their socialand economic life•Alaska Natives have also adopted newinstitutional forms to represent their politicaland economic interests and to ensure theircultural survival52

Overview of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act•An overriding objective common among allNative institutions has been the integrationof their cultural values into these newinstitutional forms‣to resolve the myriad of socialpathologies they endure and the thirdworld conditions that characterize theircommunities, and‣to achieve economic and social selfdeterminationPresentation by Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, 200953