Thursday, October 20, 2011

Module IX - ANCSA, ANILCA, Subsistence, and Fed./State Relations

Wherever you are, we're glad you're here!


Land Ownership in Alaska
AK Dept. of Natural Resources 2005
Essential Questions
  • Describe the major reasons given for statehood and explain how those reasons are reflected in the Alaska State  Constitution.
  • Americans sometimes complain about feeling alienated from their elected officials and from the seats of power.  Is such alienation true in Alaska?  Explain, and link the explanation to Alaska's state and local governance structure.
  • Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 1971 - Discuss two ways that this legislation has impacted Alaska, and two specific ways that it has impacted Alaska Natives.
  • Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 1980 has been supported and derided by Alaskans, both in 1980 when it was passed and today.  Describe three impacts of this landmark legislation.
  • Alaska Permanent Fund - $41+ billion. It is our "rainy day account". So, is it "raining" yet?  How hard is it raining?  Is it time to spend some of the earnings of the AK Permanent Fund to provide for state services?  What arguments would you present to legislators reluctant to confront this issue?
  • Pick one contemporary issue from your region and discuss - explain the issue, identify the major players and their positions.


EXAMINE    
Since the material below is complex, it may be helpful to see these questions first.

  • Identify the Alaska Native regional corporation in the area of Alaska where you live. Examine its website and describe its mission and its current business ventures.
  • What ANILCA lands are in your area?  Identify regulations that affect how that land may be used.

ENGAGE

Of all the Alaska related federal legislation over the last fifty years, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971) and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (1980) stand out as the most significant. The process by which these acts eventually became law reflects the many players, diverse perspectives and agendas, and various issues of the time. The impacts are part of Alaska today; impacts which will continue far into the future.


This module will introduce ANCSA and ANILCA along with the related topic of subsistence. The module will also offer a description of how these acts demonstrate the complex interplay of federal-state relations.  


Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 was the largest Native claims settlement ever reached between the U.S. government and Native Americans.  It was the result of decades of Native claims, and leaders of the movement relied on a series of federal documents, starting with 1867 Treaty of Cession, that, while not granting land title to Alaska Natives, also never specified a denial of claims. Most of the documents referred to a Congressional settlement at some point in the future.
ANB Logo  ktoonews.org

Leadership was provided by Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood (1912/1915) and other evolving Native organizations, including tribal governments recognized under the Indian Reorganization Act of the 1930's. 

In 1959 along with statehood came the federal court decision in the Tlingit-Haida case, which had been pursued by the Alaska Native Brotherhood since 1929. 

While this decision provided compensation rather than land title, it lent credence to the validity of Native claims.

Prudhoe Bay and TAPS
AP graphic
Encroachment on traditional Native lands accelerated during and after World War II.  Alaska Natives who had served in WW II expected better treatment in the post-war years.  

The civil rights movement was growing in the Lower 48. Several events in the 1950's and 1960's propelled the movement and brought together a coalition of diverse players who, for various reasons, wanted to see the issue of Alaska Native land claims resolved.  

Examples of significant events are the Rampart Dam project, state land selections as a result of the statehood act, and Project Chariot.  The Tundra Times newspaper was founded in 1962 to put a spotlight on these issues, and the Alaska Federation of Natives was founded in 1966 to create one organization to represent AK Native interests in working with Congress.

AK Federation of Natives Logo
www.akn.org
The event which proved to be a major catalyst for a land settlement was the discovery of oil on the North Slope. A pipeline was necessary to get the oil to a port for shipment, and easements for such a pipeline were stalled by the question of who owned the land over which the pipeline would pass. Clearly, the oil industry was anxious for a settlement.

So, what are the basics of this legislation?  One must first identify the major players and what they wanted:

  •  Federal Government: resolution of Native claims, tax revenue from Prudhoe
  •  State of Alaska:resolution, resumption of state land selections, oil taxes/royalities (90%) 
  •  Alaska Natives: title to claimed land and compensation for claims given up
  • Oil Industry: resolution so pipeline construction could begin 
  • Environmentalists: land in Alaska set aside and protected for future generations
ANCSA Signed by President Nixon 12/18/71
Tundra Times 12/22/71

What did they get?  
After months of intense negotiations and compromise, ANCSA was signed by President Nixon on Dec. 18, 1971.  The federal government, the state of Alaska, and the oil industry essentially got what they wanted. Environmentalists got a promise (ANCSA Sec. 17, (d)(2) ) of future land protections.


Alaska Natives? They got:


  • 43.7 million acres of land  
  •  $962.5 million as compensation for land claims given up
  • Creation of a structure of regional and village corporations as vehicles for land and money distribution and management.  
The act also terminated the 1906 Native Allotment Act, revoked all reservations except for the Annette Island Reserve, and according to most interpretations, extinguished any future Native claims. 

Meeting of Calista Shareholders and 
Descendents  -  www.calistacorp.com
Who could be a shareholder?  Any person who was at least 1/4 Alaska Native or considered Native by the village, who was born on/before Dec. 18. 1971, and who enrolled. These individuals received 100 shares of stock in the regional and village corporation (there are variations to this example).



Boundaries of AK Native Regional Corporations
www.cr.nps.gov
The establishment of the corporations, enrollment of shareholders, selection of lands, and start up of corporate ventures created a steep learning curve for all involved.  

Congress had granted certain protections on corporate land and stock for twenty years, and in that period, it became clear that amendments to ANCSA were needed to provide flexibility for the corporations and to allow the option of extending the protections.

There were also numerous weaknesses and omissions in the original legislation.  
ANCSA has been amended many times, but the most important amendments were signed in 1989 by President Reagan which allowed each corporation to make decisions regarding issuance to stock to those born after 1971, special stock for elders , rights of dissenters,  and protection of corporate assets.

Logo of Doyon Drilling, Inc.
Subsidiary of Doyon Ltd.
www.doyon.com

Today there are twelve in-state Native regional corporations, one out-of-state regional corporation and over 200 village corporations.

The regional corporations have grown and  matured to become integral parts of the AK economy. Several are consistently listed in the top corporations in the state. They are economic drivers with varied investments and business activities, both in-state and out.  The success of village corporations has varied; several have merged for greater efficiency and capital resources. 

AK Native Regional Corporations - in color
www.dec.alaska.gov
This very cursory overview is a starting place to understand ANCSA and today's Native corporations. Not all AK Natives supported the original legislation. Not all were fully informed at the time (recall the communications challenges). Others became disillusioned when the defects of the act became known, or when they didn't see any benefits of the act filtering down to them.

One of the greatest concerns was the potential loss of Native lands (owned by the corporation) if the corporation became insolvent. That led to a resurgence in the 1980's of the tribal governments who often saw the tribes as a more appropriate entity for holding the land and ensuring survival of the culture.




Explore


There are dozens of resources on this topic.  
From  the AK History/Culture Studies site, read 

There are many links from this site that provide even more detail.
  • The Alaskool site provides many references.  Take a look at what is available.  



To learn about the current functioning of the Alaska Native corporations, go to the website for each.  Typically these sites include corporation history, current activities, and an archive of the annual reports.


13th Regional Corporation (formed 1975 for AK Natives living out of Alaska - given money but no land. This corporation has struggled and is under investigation. There is no current website.)



ENGAGE

ANILCA, Subsistence, Fed/State Relations


The decade of the 1970's saw a series of bills introduced in Congress with the purpose of fulfilling the mandate of ANCSA Sec. 17(d)(2). The issue split Alaskans into pro-conservation vs. pro-development camps. Because the issue involved federal lands, interest groups from the Lower 48 weighed in with lobbyists and  publicity. For many Alaskans, it was seen as a power struggle between the federal and state governments - between the needs/wishes of the local population and the wishes of Americans with only a hazy idea about life on the Last Frontier.


Alaskans Protest Pres. Jimmy Carter and
ANILCA ca. 1978-80, www.pbs.org
The online readings below will provide detail on the process that led to ANILCA. It includes what was derided by some as an abuse of executive power  when, in 1978, President Carter withdrew millions of acres under the 1906 Antiquities Act in an effort to protect land from state selection and to apply pressure for Congressional action. It worked. 


The final ANILCA bill of 1980 was a compromise that set aside 104 million acres of federal land in Alaska under the status of monuments, preserves, and wildlife refuges as well as adding to the national park and national forest systems.


Since 1980, the implementation of ANILCA has shaped what occurs on the over 60% of Alaska owned by the federal government. Mining, cabin building, road/trail building, use of motorized vehicles, use of tools such as chain saws, hunting, fishing, recreational activities - all are regulated on these lands, and it is incumbent on users to learn the regulations before accessing these areas.

Former Pres. Jimmy Carter and 
Former AK Governor Jay Hammond, 
25th Anniversary of ANILCA
Anchorage 2005, photo by Al Grillo




The issue of subsistence  (Alaska vernacular for subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering) is imbedded in ANILCA language, and therefore an understanding of the legislation is critical when discussing this topic. 


Title VIII of ANILCA granted a subsistence "priority" for rural residents at any time of inadequate resource availability. The federal government granted to the state of Alaska the management of fish/game on all Alaska lands contingent on the state enacting a subsistence priority law that would align with ANILCA. The state did this in 1978.

Drying Salmon  www.qiviut.com
What transpired next has been a fascinating example and demonstration of the interplay of the federal and state governments.  One way to understand this is to recall the government charts and the federalism power structure.  Another way to visualize this is to use a timeline to see how the events in the subsistence discussion have played out over time.

The History of Subsistence interactive timeline on the Alaskool site is most helpful.  Recall the Alaska Constitution Article 8 - resources belong to all of the people. Start there and follow the sequence of events. 

While the majority of Alaskan supported a subsistence priority law, a lawsuit determined that the law was unconstitutional based on language in the state constitution (state constitution trumps state law). When that happened, Alaska was out of compliance with federal law-ANILCA (federal law trumps a state constitution).  Efforts to either amend the AK Constitution and/or amend ANILCA dominated Alaska public dialogue in the 1980's and 1990's.  

Because a resolution was not achieved, in 1989 the federal government took over management of subsistence resources on federal land, and in 1999 took over fisheries in federal waters. This has resulted in a dual system of fish/game management in Alaska, which was precisely what the advocates for statehood fought against. Online resources listed below provide more history and current status on this critical issue. 





EXPLORE

As with ANCSA, there are hundreds of online sources for ANILCA and subsistence.



From Alaska History/ Culture Studies site, read 


Also - 
  • ANILCA (National Parks Conservation Association) 
  • Alaska Geographic  At this site are interactive maps with maps of Alaska's national parks, wildlife refuges, most of which are ANILCA lands. 
From Alaska History/Culture Studies site, read  
From the Alaskool site:    

Other -  


More detail - to review as you have time.......

ANILCA provided for the creation or expansion of:
  • Alaska Land Status 2006
    (Click for larger image.)
    AK Dept. of Natural Resources Map#1115
    Denali National Park
  • Wrangell - St Elias National Park and Preserve
  • Gates Of The Arctic National Park and Preserve
  • Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
  • Kobuk Valley National Park
  • Katmai National Park and Preserve
  • Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
  • Kenai Fjords National Park
  • Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
  • Cape Krusenstern National Monument
  • Admiralty Island National Monument
  • Federal Lands - Alaska 1995
    (Click for larger image.)
    AK Dept. of Natural Resources
    Misty Fjords National Monument
  • Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
  • Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
  • Noatak National Preserve
  • Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
  • Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
  • Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge
  • Significant changes to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge


What's Next?
- Alaska's Permanent Fund


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