Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was a landmark United States federal law signed by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971. It extinguished Aboriginal land claims in Alaska and authorized the transfer of 44 million acres of land and $962.5 million to Alaska Natives. The act established a novel corporate structure for land and financial asset management, fundamentally altering the relationship between Alaska Natives and the federal government.

Background and legislative history

The drive for a comprehensive settlement was precipitated by the discovery of major oil reserves at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast. The Prudhoe Bay discovery by Atlantic Richfield Company and Humble Oil in 1968 created an urgent need to resolve outstanding Native American land claims to clear the way for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. The Alaska Statehood Act of 1959 had required the new State of Alaska to select over 100 million acres from the public domain, but this process was frozen by the Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, in 1966 due to overlapping Native claims. Key advocates for a settlement included the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), led by figures like Willie Hensley and John Borbridge, and Senator Ted Stevens. The legislation was shepherded through the Congress by Senator Henry M. Jackson and Representative Wayne Aspinall, following years of negotiation and the influential report of the Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission.

Provisions of the Act

The act extinguished all Aboriginal title in Alaska based on "use and occupancy." In return, it granted a total of $962.5 million to be paid over time, with funds originating from both the federal treasury and a share of mineral revenues from state lands. It authorized the conveyance of approximately 44 million acres of land to Alaska Natives. A central and unique provision was the creation of over 200 village corporations and 12 regional, for-profit corporations to receive and manage these land and capital assets. Eligible Natives had to be alive on December 18, 1971, and were enrolled as shareholders in both a regional and a village corporation. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was tasked with enrollment. The act also contained provisions protecting subsistence rights, though these were later subject to legal challenge.

Implementation and regional corporations

Implementation was managed by the newly created Alaska Native Enrollment Board and the Bureau of Land Management for land surveys and selections. The twelve geographic-based regional corporations established were the Ahtna, Aleut, Arctic Slope, Bering Straits, Bristol Bay, Calista, Chugach, Cook Inlet, Doyon, Koniag, NANA, and Sealaska. A thirteenth corporation, The 13th Regional Corporation, was later formed for Natives living outside Alaska. These corporations, such as the highly successful Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, engaged in diverse business ventures including oil field services, federal contracting, tourism, and resource development.

Impact and legacy

The act had a profound and complex socio-economic impact. It transformed many Alaska Native communities by creating a significant, albeit unevenly distributed, capital base and instituting a corporate model of governance alongside traditional structures. It enabled major infrastructure projects like the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System to proceed. Criticisms include that it terminated reservation status for most groups, replaced communal land ownership with corporate stock, and created complex legal issues regarding shareholder rights and land management. The act is often contrasted with the Indian Reorganization Act and is cited as a model in international Indigenous land rights discussions. Its legacy is debated as both an engine for economic development and a disruptive force on cultural and subsistence practices.

Amendments and related legislation

Several key amendments addressed shortcomings in the original act. The 1976 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Amendments allowed corporations to issue stock to descendants of original enrollees. The 1987 amendments, known as "1991 Amendments," resolved critical issues surrounding stock alienation and corporate control, allowing shareholders to vote on whether to keep stock privately held within the Native community. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980, which created vast new protected areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, was directly related as it addressed public land allocations following the settlement. Other related statutes include the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 and the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994. Category:1971 in American law Category:Alaska Native history Category:United States federal public land legislation Category:92nd United States Congress