Letters to Howard
(An Interpretation of the Alaska Native Land
Claims)
by Fred Bigjim and James Ito-Adler
c. 1974
Fred Bigjim asked Alaska Native
Knowledge Network to have Sara Harriger's (a college
student) paper included with "Letters to Howard"
Forward
The letters in this short collection, Letters to Howard,
are signed by Naugga Ciunerput and Wally Morton, two residents of
Lands End Village in the State of Alaska. The actual authors of
the letters are Fred Bigjim and James Ito-Adler, who at the time were
residents of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and students at Harvard
University. As graduate students, they were both Teaching Fellows in
an under-graduate course at the university, Social Sciences 152,
entitled, "Native Americans in the Contemporary United
States."
The
idea of writing the letters under the name of Naugga Ciunerput and
Wally Morton was not primarily an attempt to deceive people or fool
them about the things that were being said. The letters are a very
honest attempt to put down on paper certain questions, problems,
feelings, and thoughts that we had about the situation of Native
people in Alaska today. Fred Bigjim is an Alaskan Eskimo, himself,
although he is not quite an "old" man yet. Jim Ito-Adler was a Peace
Corps Volunteer in Brazil for two years before returning to study for
a Ph.D. in social anthropology. Thus, we were able to speak with our
true voices in the letters as we combined our questions and shared
our knowledge.
During
the semester that we were teaching the course on Native Americans in
the contemporary United States, we faced a similar situation over and
over again. Students would read a book like Dee Browns "Bury My
Heart at Wounded Knee" or Vine Delaireas "Custer Died for Your
Sins," and become outraged at the way Indian tribes were destroyed by
the onslaught of "Western Civilization." They would hear Native
American speakers denounce the Bureau of Indian Affairs and they
would see television coverage of the Wounded Knee occupation at Pine
Ridge, South Dakota. The result in many cases would be feelings of
guild, shame, and sometimes outrage, but all too soon the moment
would pass. And besides, Custer is dead and the U.S. Cavalry no
longer charges down on hapless Indian villages. But this passes over
the deep-rooted and barely perceived story of the expansion of
certain forces in the American way of life that had perhaps greater
effects on the Native American way of life than the 7th
Cavalry. The integration of Native resources into the expanding
market economy of the late 19th century meant the loss of
their autonomous land base as the treat rights were eroded. The Dawes
Severalty Act, sometimes know as the General Allotment Act, did
irreparable damage to Native peoples under the guise of helping them
to become better farmers and more civilized. The termination phase of
Department of Interior might have phased out the BIA and Indian
tribes as well under the guise of Indian self-reliance.
When
we began to discuss these things in class, most of the students were
aroused by the injustices, especially since they were at a distance
both in time and space. After all, what happened on the frontier in
1870 was not going to happen in the United States in 1970. After all,
the Alaska Natives were going to receive one billion dollars and
eighty million - or was it forty million acres in compensation? As we
read through the provisions of AN ACT (Public Law 92-203), we began
to get a different perception. While it may be true that under the
political conditions of the day this was the best settlement that
Alaska Natives could have gotten, we decided to look the gift horse
in the mouth. The purpose is not to second guess the Native
leadership who were faced with the impossible task of representing
Alaskas diverse peoples in the negotiations and drafting of the
bill, but rather to attempt to look to the future in an attempt to
understand what forces this legislation will set loose in Alaska as
far as the Native way of life is concerned.
We
found some guidance in the story of the past, in the story of the
relationship between Native peoples and the federal government in
these United States of America. What is happening to Native people in
Alaska is not a new story; it is a new chapter
in an old story. Today we have discoveries of
oil and an energy crisis; yesterday it was gold, timber, furs, water,
and any number of international crises. Only now, as Naugga Ciunerput
(Our Destiny) notes, the stakes are higher and the pot is
sweeter.
The
letters in this collection speak our mind for us. They are written
with our voices. They ask the questions that bother us and state the
feelings that move us. We do not pretend to have the answers to these
serious questions, but we refuse to cover our ignorance in silence.
The "experts" can write a complicated legal document like AN ACT, but
it is the far simpler and humbler folk who will have to live with the
consequences. And who will look to the future for them, their
children, and the many generations to come? Will this be a story that
started a century ago or will it start in twenty years when a new
generation will have to live with todays decisions?
LETTERS TO HOWARD
Chapter 1
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
March 30, 1973
Dear Howard:
I
have been living in this village for many years all alone except for
Mr. Wally Morton, who was an old VISTA volunteer who got lost up here
in 1970 and never got evacuated. We didnt used to have much to
do in the evenings until one day when the mail plane dropped a bundle
of magazines which all turned out to be the same - AN ACT (Public Law
92-203). Wally read one copy and then told me that it had a lot to do
with my life and my future here in Alaska, so we read it together in
the evenings to practice our lessons. You see, he is teaching me
English and I am teaching him Eskimo, and we use AN ACT as the text.
So far it has been pretty one-sided because AN ACT doesnt have
any Eskimo language in it. In fact, as Wally explains what AN ACT
says to me, this seems pretty logical, because as far as Alaska
natives (that is what we Eskimos, Aleuts, Tlingits, Haidas,
Athabaskans, etc., are called in AN ACT) are concerned, it does seem
to be pretty one sided. He says that there is a lot of money ($$$$)
involved, but then Wally always has been a bit more interested in
dollars than in land, water, animals, and such-like. To hear him
explain it, they all involve buying, selling and world markets, and I
am just an old Eskimo man who does not know much about these
complicated things.
But
there are a few things that one old man can say to another old man
which Ill try to pass on to you to see what you think. As there
were many new and difficult words in AN ACT, we read Section 3 on
DEFINITIONS first. The very first word defined in AN ACT is
"Secretary," which does not mean a woman who operates a typewriter
and makes decisions for the boss in an office, as I had always been
told. This "Secretary" is the boss of the Interior Department. I
wonder who writes his letters and makes decisions for him like all
the other bosses? Anyway, this "Secretary" seems to be extremely
important since he is the first person defined in AN ACT and
apparently gets to make most of the important decisions. For example,
in Section 3 of AN ACT, it says that a Native is someone who has 1/4
Native blood or if not that, then someone who is recognized by other
Natives as a Native and who has one parent that is also recognized as
a Native. Then it says in Section 3 (b): "Any decision of the
Secretary regarding eligibility for enrollment shall be final"; so
Wally was wondering if he was a friend of the Secretary could he be
enroled as a Native. As for me, I was wondering if the Secretary
didnt like me could he prevent me from being enroled as a
Native? Then I got to wondering what about someone with 1/4 Native
blood that other Natives did not recognize as a Native. I mean, is
Native a Native, or is a Native someone the "Secretary" says is a
Native? How much Native blood does the "Secretary" need to be able to
decide who is a Native? And who were the Natives who decided that the
"Secretary" could decide who Natives were?
This
is all very difficult to me, Howard, so I will be writing down some
more of the questions about AN ACT that are bothering me and sending
them on to you. Many thanks, and I hope all is well with you.
Your Native
Friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 2
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
April 10, 1973
Dear Howard:
The
mail plane finally got through last week, so I am able to get out
another letter to you about the problems I am having with the
Secretarys plan, AN ACT, about us Alaska Natives. With the help
of my friend Wally Morton, the ex-VISTA- volunteer, I was able to
fill out the Native Enrollment Form in time, so I guess that
qualifies me as a Native of Alaska. One of the things that I had to
do was fill out a family tree which is probably so the Secretary can
see if it really has Native roots. It made me sad to do this, because
it took me back to the times when we were younger and we saw so many
of our friends and relatives dying during the time of sickness. Wally
is too young to remember those times when the outsiders brought their
sickness and diseases to our villages. Though it makes me sad, it
also makes me remember how the survivors opened their hearts and
homes to adopt the children who were left without parents. We all
knew our responsibility to each other in those times. I wonder how
this will appear in the family trees that the Secretary is
collecting? Can he build a Native forest out of these paper trees
which are taken to represent our lives?
As
Wally was helping me, I began to realize that many of my relatives
would not be able to fill out these Native Enrollment Forms without
help. They are very difficult to under stand even if you speak some
English. I see my friend Wally complaining that he needs a Legalese
Dictionary to translate the Bureaucratic English in AN ACT which
explains all the rules and reasons for these forms. Just imagine the
problems of a poor old man like myself and you will see why I worry
about those who did not have help before the deadline. Did they
become Lost Natives after March 30. 1973, as far an AN ACT is
concerned? I guess two years is a long time to some people, but out
here in the villages it is a short time in a way of life that has
been going on for as long as anyone knows. Wally says that the
Secretary refused to extend the enrollment deadline for even 30 days.
Did he really think that the month of April was so important to his
plans when he made this plan two years ago?
Finally,
there is one more thing that has been bothering my about enrollment
under AN ACT. What is wrong with all our children and grandchildren
who are being born since AN ACT was passed? Are babies born after
December 18, 1971, to Natives somehow less Native than those born
before this date? On paper they are not Natives as far as AN ACT is
concerned. As a family ends when there are no more children to carry
on, what happens to a people when they do not claim their
descendants? Are we setting brother against brother according to
their birth dates?
I
am sorry, Howard, for carrying on about these problems because as
Wally says - many lawyers must have spent much time and money to
settle these questions. But even though this old man may be ignorant,
he knows who he is without seeing the papers on the Secretarys
desk and he knows who his people are and how to act towards them.
Even though Wally says this is all too late I am comforted by the
fact that I am still learning new things every day. It is possible to
sleep through the morning but still wake up for the new day.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 3
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
April 17, 1973
Dear Howard:
Something
really special happened when the mail plane came through our village
last week. There was a letter for me from a young fellow in Anchorage
named Joe Ayagtug who is a distant relative of mine. He is the son of
my wifes cousin who used to live in a nearby village. Years
ago, when Joe became old enough to be starting school, the people
from the Bureau of Indian Affairs came and took him away to be
educated in Wrangell. This made his family very sad and also very
angry. They were sad because they would miss their son, but they were
also mad because their son was taken away against their wishes and
without their knowledge. As for little Joe, he never came back to
stay for good with his family, because he was too young to know what
was really happening. Growing up in an institution, he gradually
forgot how life was supposed to be in the village. When he did come
back to visit his folks, they did not know his new ways and he was no
use at all around the house.
Since
his own family died in an accident a few years ago, I guess that
makes me one of his closest relatives in the world. In the letter he
says that he wants to come back to the village and learn about how
things were in the old days. For my part, I want to talk to him about
how things are nowadays. I often wonder about all of those children
who were taken away from their families to be educated and then took
up city ways. Wally has often told me about how exciting those cities
are supposed to be, but they dont sound so good to me. Maybe
Joe can tell us about some of the things in AN ACT since he said in
the letter that he got a job with one of the Regional Corporations
that were created by AN ACT.
Wally
and I looked up what it said about Regional Corporations in AN ACT
and it set my English lessons back about a week. To begin with, it
seemed pretty clear what a Region was even if it wasnt so clear
why they did this in AN ACT, but Wallys explanation of what a
corporation was didnt make much sense. I know what a company
is, or at least I can understand what it does, but he said that a
Corporation was a Person under the Law, and that this was an example
of a legal fiction. But Wally had already told me a Person was a
Human Being, and that fiction was a story that wasnt true, so
you can imagine how confused I was getting. Then I asked him if there
was any place in the White Mans Law for Legal Truth. He
didnt say anything, so I asked him if a person who became a
corporation was still considered a human being. Well, he started
getting a bit angry and I was getting more confused so I guess we
wont talk about it for awhile till things calm down.
Anyway,
maybe when this young fellow from Anchorage gets here, he will be
able to explain some more about what AN ACT means for us out here in
the villages.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 4
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
April 26, 1973
Dear Howard:
Well,
Joe Ayagtug - that Eskimo fellow from the big city I was telling you
about - came in on the mail plane this week. We also got a copy of
the Tundra Times which had printed the first letter I sent to
you. Joe was surprised to see it and he had a lot to say about AN
ACT. Wally Morton, my VISTA friend asked him about how the Regional
Corporations were doing since in Section (a) (1) (A) it said that
$12,500,000 were supposed to go into the Alaska Native Fund during
the fiscal year in which AN ACT became effective. Then Wally went on
to add that Section 6 (c) said that after the completion of the
enrollment all the money in the fund shall be distributed at the end
of each three months of the fiscal year among the Regional
Corporations.
Joe
Ayagtug said that as far as he knew each Regional Corporation had
received $500,000 so far from the fund. With 12 Regional Corporations
that added up to only $6,000,000, or one-half of the money that
should have been in the fund. Wally said that he would like to have
six million dollars in the bank earning 6% interest for a few months
which sort of made Joe wonder what was going on. Wally also asked Joe
if all the regions had the same native populations since the money
was supposed to be distributed according to the relative population
of natives enrolled. Since Joe did not know how the rest of the money
was going to be distributed, I will pass the question on to you,
Howard: Will each Regional Corporation get the same amount of the
rest of the money or will it depend on the size of their native
populations?
But
the most serious question that is bothering me is about Section 6
(b). If this is supposed to be a fair and just
settlement of the Alaska Native Claims, why is our use of the money
restricted by AN ACT? Wally has been telling me for so long how
important it is for us traditional Natives to learn how to use the
modern legal and political system. This is so we will be able to
operate in the dominant White society, as he puts it. Now it says in
AN ACT that natives cannot use any of this money to influence the
political system. I asked Wally if white corporations can use their
money to influence politics and he admitted that oil companies, for
example, maintain big lobbies to influence politicians. Joe added
that if we wanted to see what money could do in politics, we should
see what the newspapers in the lower forty-eight are reporting about
Washington these days.
But
why did they put this section in AN ACT? Were they so afraid that we
Natives might learn how to use their system for ourselves? It
isnt fair to tell a person to learn how to do something and
then deny them the right to do it. Well, Howard, to me this
settlement seems to be less fair and just the more I read it, but
then I am just an old man in a small village.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Public Law 92-203
92nd Congress, H. R. 10367
December 18, 1971
AN ACT
Section 6 (a)
|
There is hereby established in the United States
Treasurer an Alaska Native Fund into which the following
moneys shall be deposited:
(1) $462,500,000 from the general fund of the Treasurer,
which are authorized to be appropriated according to the
following schedule;
(A) $12,500,000 during the fiscal year in which this Act
becomes effective;
|
Section 6 (c)
|
After completion of the roll prepared pursuant to Section
5, all money in the Fund, except money reserved as provided
in section 20 for the payment of attorney and other fees,
shall be distributed at the end of each three months of the
fiscal year among the Regional Corporations organized
pursuant to Section 7 on the basis of the relative numbers
of Natives enrolled in each region. The share of a Regional
Corporation that has not been organized shall be retained in
the Fund until the Regional Corporation is organized.
|
Section 6 (b)
|
None of the funds paid or distributed pursuant to this
section to any of the Regional and Village Corporations
established pursuant to this Act shall be expended, donated,
or otherwise used for the purpose of carrying on propaganda,
or intervening in (including publishing and distributing of
statements) any political campaign on behalf of any
candidate for public office. Any person who willfully
violates the foregoing provision shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than twelve months,
or both.
|
Fund
expenditures
for propaganda
or political
campaigns,
prohibition.
Penalty,
Chapter 5
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
May 4, 1973
Dear Mr. Rock:
Since
Naugga Ciunerpat and Joe Ayagtug have gone off together on a hunting
trip, I have decided to write the letter to you this week. This will
give me a chance to let you know what has been going on out here,
especially with regard to the letters you have been receiving.
I
am the one who has actually been writing the letters, although they
are basically Naugga Ciunerputs ideas and thoughts. He is still
unsure of his English, and doesnt know how to write yet, so he
tells me what to say in the letters and I fix up the grammar,
spelling and punctuation. At first I disagreed with him about some of
the things he wanted to write or at least I didnt understand
what he was trying to communicate. But since I began to read the
Native Claims Settlement Act, I am beginning to see the light.
When
I first came to Alaska as a VISTA volunteer I thought that I would be
helping the noble but backward natives into economic development and
social progress. The thing I though was necessary was a change in
traditional attitudes and the adoption of new technology and modern
market methods. When they resisted, I thought they were just being
stubborn or lazy; instead of change they wanted to talk about
history, law and politics.
As
I worked with a group of native fishermen in a program of community
development, I slowly began to realize that the poverty of the
village was not so much due to the native psychology as to the
activities of certain private corporations in the region. The people
worked hard, but they ended up further in debt to the owners of the
fishing equipment and the company store. But you dont learn
about this in the books we used in training.
When
the Alaska Native Claims Act was passed, my parents wrote me from
home asking if I would be coming back early now that all of the
Eskimos were going to be millionaires! Well, I dont exactly see
it that way, especially since I have begun to read the provisions of
AN ACT with Naugga. For example, my father is a member of a
conservation group which is opposed to the building of the oil
pipeline. He doesnt realize that for the Alaska natives to
oppose the pipeline, which they probably would if they had a free
choice, they would lose one-half their settlement. Divide and conquer
still seems to be a good colonial strategy.
Probably
when I leave Alaska I will apply to go to law school in order to
learn some useful skills to deal with these problems. One small
example was when Joe and I were discussion the federal regulations on "modern and urban" villages.
He was upset because so many villages were going to be denied the benefits of
AN ACT when I pointed out
that they also had to have a majority of non-Natives according to
Section 11 (b) (2), since it says and rather than or.
Later that week, we got a copy of the Tundra Times, where it
said that there was a long meeting to resolve this when someone
finally decided to call up a lawyer in Washington to pass judgement
on it. It would appear that if the natives dont read AN ACT, no
one will, since the Interior Department will just issue any
regulations they want.
Next
week I hope that Naugga and Joe will be back to continue the
correspondence.
Sincerely
yours,
Walter M. Morton
Chapter 6
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
May 10, 1973
Dear Howard:
A
am sorry that I missed a week in writing to you, but it appears that
my friend, Wally Morton, wrote to you explaining the situation. Well,
he is still here putting my words and thoughts down on paper. Joe
Ayagtug and I took a week[s trip into the territory
surrounding our village to see how the land selection will work here.
We covered our traditional hunting and fishing grounds where our
people have lived for centuries. Although everyone knew the area, we
never put up markers, fences or boundaries because there were enough
resources for everyone to survive.
What
we found was large areas that had been marked off by others,
especially the Federal Government. Some of it is in national parks,
wildlife refuges, bird sanctuaries; while other areas are held by the
State of Alaska and private corporations. That means that the land
available to us to choose is smaller because of all of these others
who are outsiders as far as we natives are concerned. They have taken
this land without our participation or permission. How then can this
be a "fair and just" settlement if that land was taken from us
without our knowledge and is not going to be included in the
selection process? What will become of the villages in these areas?
Who is this wildlife being reserved for? Wally says that maybe we
natives should apply to the Federal Government for protection as an
"endangered species."
Joe
Ayagtug said that, according to AN ACT, our land choice will have to
be compact and contiguous. Did this apply to the government and the
private corporations when they took all that land? Because we are a
small village we have rights to about 69,120 acres. Apparently 23,040
acres will be the square section around the village itself. Since we
are located on a river we would like to choose land along the river,
but Joe says this would not be compact and also AN ACT limits the
villages selection in regards to waterways. He also said that
our village would not receive subsurface rights, in other words any
valuable minerals in the ground, because these would belong to the
Regional Corporation. This I cannot understand. Why cant the
Village Corporation have the subsurface rights to the land that they
receive? How did they make a decision like this?
Well,
Howard, I have so many questions about how this land selection is
going to work that Ill probably have to send in another letter
when we begin to see what happens out here.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 7
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
May 15, 1973
Dear Howard:
I
am sending this letter out with Joe Ayagtug, who is returning to
Anchorage this week. When he left he was very worried about how the
land selection is going to work in our village. Before he left, he
pointed out that about half of the available period for land
selection is over since it says in Section 12 (a) (1) of AN ACT that
we have until December 18, 1974, or three years. With so little time
and such complicated rules, how can we be expected to do such a
thing, when, as Joe said, the State of Alaska has had thirteen years
to select the land that was to be taken from us by the Statehood
Act?
It
seems a little odd to me that the land surveys will come after the
land selection. How will we know if we are selecting too little land
or too much land until it is surveyed? I also wonder how long it will
take for the survey to be done and will any Natives be trained to do
this work? In the past, they never let us Natives do the simplest
things for ourselves and now they give us a task which is so
complicated. Is this one more example of a fair and just settlement?
It seems that we village people are the last to find out about these
things and are expected to be the first to accomplish them.
Another
thing that has been bothering me, Howard, is the division between
surface and subsurface rights in the land. If the Regional
Corporations are getting subsurface rights in the Village land, why
cant the Village get subsurface rights in the wildlife refuges,
for example? Wally says that it would destroy the purpose of them,
but then what will mining and drilling do to life in the small
villages? Maybe they are afraid that if there are rich minerals
underneath the ground, there may be rich Natives above it.
All
of this is very confusing to an old man, so maybe some of your
readers who live in villages could write and tell me how they are
handling the problem of land selection where they live.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Public Law 92-203
2nd Congress, H. R. 10367
December 18, 1971
AN ACT
- Section 12 (a) (1) During a period of three years from the
date of enactment of this Act, the
- Village Corporation for each Native village identified
pursuant to section 11 shall select, in accordance with rules
established by the Secretary, all of the township or townships
in which any part of the village is located, plus an area that
will make the total selection equal to the acreage to which the
village is entitled under section 14. The selection shall be
made from lands withdrawn by subsection 11 (a): Provided, That
no Village Corporation may select more than 69,120 acres from
lands withdrawn by subsection 11 (a) (2), and not more than
69,120 acres from the National Wildlife Refuge System, and not
more than 69,120 acres in a National Forest: Provided further,
That when a Village Corporation selects the surface estate to
lands within the National Wildlife Refuge System or Naval
Petroleum Reserve Numbered 4, the Regional Corporation for that
region may select the sub-surface estate in an equal acreage
from other lands withdrawn by subsection 11 (a) within the
region, if possible.
Chapter 8
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
May 20. 1973
Dear Howard:
Recently
a funny thing happened out here that I thought might interest you. A
fellow, who said he was from New York City, came through our village
and tried to sell me a set of the New American World Encyclopedias.
At least I thing=k that was what he said they were called. He said
they were a real bargain at only $500, and that if I wanted, I could
buy them on the installment plan for the low, low cost of $12.50 a
week for 12 months! He told us that he was selling them to help us
newly-rich natives make our way in the modern world.
Just
for fun, Wally and I added up the weekly payments which came out to
be $600 and not $500 as he said. That didnt seem to bother him,
because he said that Time is Money and it was easy to earn $100 if
you had $500 for a whole year. He went on to ask me if all us Natives
werent millionaires anyway. It seems that his company in New
York read about AN ACT in the Wall street Journal and the rest was
simple arithmetic. With only about 60,000 Natives in Alaska and
according to Section (6) (a) (1) (A), a first fiscal year payment of
$12,500,000, this should be enough money for each family to get a
brand new refrigerator and a set of the New American World
Encyclopedias!
I
told him that I hadnt seen a penny so far, and Wally suggested
that he go call on the officials in the Regional Corporation, who
seem to be doing quite well. His reasoning was that if they spent
$500 on a set of encyclopedias, they could look up some of the things
that they have been hiring consultants to find out for them.
The
salesman didnt seem to be discouraged by all this, for he set
out right away for the next village. He said that he had to keep
ahead of the competition who would soon be flocking up here to get
their share of this Native "gold mine," as he called it. It seems
that more and more people are thinking that all of the Alaska Natives
are instant millionaires, when really we are still as poor as we ever
were. But they all want to hit paydirt in this imaginary Native gold
mine.
I
just hope that this doesnt make things worse than they already
are.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 9
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
May 25, 1973
Dear Howard:
The
other night when we were reading the opening sections of AN ACT,
where it has the Statement of Policy, we came across Section 2
(b) where it says that the settlement should be accomplished without
establishing any racially defined institutions, rights, privileges or
obligations. Then in Section 2 (c), after saying that the Alaska
Natives shall not lose any rights as citizens of the United States,
it goes on to say that the Secretary is supposed to make a study of
all the Federal programs primarily designed to benefit Native people
and to report back to Congress by December 18, 1974. I wonder if this
is being done now, by the Secretary?
Wally
and I have been worrying more and more about peoples attitudes
towards Natives ever since that traveling encyclopedia salesman
passed through here last week. It seems that they think we are all
millionaires and will no longer be able to rely on government aid and
assistance any more. If that article in your paper about "modern and
urban" standards for Native villages is any indication, they may no
longer be able to rely on government aid and assistance any more. If
that article in your paper about "modern and urban" standards for
Native villages is any indication, they may try and hold even the
little help we did get against us. Do you think that the Secretary
might close down all of the federal services to Native people like
the B.I.A. schools, the Public Health hospitals, Manpower Training
centers, and other programs like that?
The
question, I guess, is are these racially defined institutions,
rights, privileges, or obligations that AN ACT is talking about?
Wally says that if the Federal government doesnt fund these
programs, its a very slim chance that the State of Alaska will
pick them up, considering how most people up here feel about AN ACT
and the Native Claims. This claim money wont go very far if it
has to cover all of these services.
Besides,
it seems to me that this money is for the land they have take from us
and it doesnt terminate all of the other relationships that we
have with the Federal government. Considering all they are getting,
they arent losing anything on this deal! Finally, if this study
of Federal services to the Alaska Natives is being made, how many
Natives are involved in it to see that our interests are going to be
protected?
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Public Law 92-203
92nd Congress, H. R. 10367
December 18, 1971
AN ACT
- Section 2. Congress finds and declares that --
(b)
|
the settlement should be accomplished rapidly, with
certainty, in conformity with the real economic and
social needs of Natives, without litigation, with
maximum participation by Natives in decisions
affecting their rights and property, without
establishing any permanent racially defined
institutions, rights, privileges, or obligations,
without creating a reservations system or lengthy
wardship or trusteeship, and without adding to the
categories of property and institutions enjoying
special tax privileges or to the legislation
establishing special relationships between the United
States Government and the State of Alaska;
|
(c)
|
no provision of this Act shall replace or diminish
any right, privilege or obligation of Natives as
citizens of the United States or Alaska, or relieve,
or replace or diminish any obligation of the United
States or of the State of Alaska to protect and
promote the rights or welfare of the Natives as
citizens of the United States or of Alaska; the
Secretary is authorized and directed, together with
other appropriate agencies of the United States
Government, to make a study of all Federal programs
primarilydesigned to benefit Native people and to
report back to the Congress of these programs within
three years of the date of enactment of this Act.
|
Chapter 10
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
July 10, 1973
Dear Howard:
Hello
my old friend! I am sorry for not writing to you for so long, but
with the break-up and the nice spring weather, I was so involved in
our village activities that I didnt have time to write.
Springtime is so beautiful here in the village when our land comes
back to life with so many flowers, birds, green plants and animals.
Even the people feel more alive when we can take part in all of this
activity on the tundra just as our fathers have done for generations.
It never fails to excite us even though it happens every year. No
Native is so ole that there isnt a thrill when spring comes to
the tundra.
Do
you think that the people who wrote AN ACT have the same feelings?
Can they understand the power of these simple pleasures or do they
only see the land as something to be measured in terms of profits and
losses? This seems to be a vision of Alaska that makes lots of
dollars and no sense to the people who live here, especially the
Natives.
The
reason I bring this up is that last week we had a visit from some of
the Land Use Planning Commissioners here in our village. They said
that they were doing their duties under Section 17 of AN ACT and they
wanted to know our thoughts about what to do with 80,000,000 acres of
public land in Alaska. They were in a bit of a hurry, so they
didnt even spend a full day here. I guess that if I got $100 a
day, I wouldnt spend too much time in any one place either, but
the problems they are dealing with are so big that it was hard to
know what is best for Alaska Natives. Besides, we are mostly worried
about the land near our village. Actually, there should be no
question about what to do with these 80 million acres - this land was
Native land before the government got it and it would be only right
that the Natives should get it back now.
Wally,
my ex-VISTA friend, says that the Land Use Planning Commission seems
like a bureaucratic boondoggle to him - or a blunder at best. To me
it seems like a waste of money, especially since I understand that
there is only one Native Commissioner out of ten and very few Natives
on the staff. How come I never seem to hear about it when they are
passing out the $100 a day jobs?
Well,
I still have lots more work to do here in the village since I am not
old enough to "retire" and not do anything if I want to eat.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Public Law 92-203
92nd Congress, H. R. 10367
December 18, 1971
AN ACT
Section 17 (a) (1) There is hereby established the Joint
Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission for Alaska. The
Planning Commission shall be composed of ten members . .
Information,
availability.
(b)
|
Each department, agency and instrumentality of the
executive branch of the Federal Government, including
independent agencies, is authorized and directed to
furnish to the Commission, upon request made by a
co-chairman, such information as the Commission deems
necessary to carry out its functions under this
section.
|
(7)
|
The Planning Commission shall --
|
72 Stat. 339.48
USC prec. 21
note.
(a)
|
undertake a process of land-use planning, including
the identification of and the making of
recommendations concerning areas planned and best
suited for permanent reservation in Federal ownership
as parks, game refuges and other public uses, areas of
Federal and State lands to be made available for
disposal, and uses to be made of lands remaining in
Federal and State ownership;
|
(b)
|
make recommendations with respect to proposed land
selections by the State under the Alaska Statehood Act
and by Village and Regional Corporations under this
Act;
|
(c)
|
be available to advise upon and assist in the
development and review of land-use plans for lands
selected by the Native Village and Regional
Corporations under this Act and by the State under the
Alaska Statehood Act;
|
(d)
|
review existing withdrawals of Federal public lands
and recommend to the President of the United States
such additions to or modifications of withdrawals as
are deemed desirable;
|
(e)
|
establish procedures, including public hearings,
for obtaining public views on the land-use planning
programs of the State and Federal Governments for
lands under their administration;
|
(f)
|
establish a committee of land-use advisers to the
Commission, made up of representatives of commercial
and industrial land users in Alaska, recreational land
users, wilderness users, environmental groups, Alaska
Natives and other citizens;
|
(g)
|
make recommendations to the President of the United
States and the Governor of Alaska as to programs and
budgets of the Federal and State agencies responsible
for the administration of Federal and State lands;
|
(h)
|
make recommendations from time to time to the
President of the United States, Congress and the
Governor and legislature of the State as to changes in
laws, policies and programs that the Planning
Commission determines are necessary or desirable;
|
(i)
|
make recommendations to insure that economic growth
and development is orderly, planned and compatible
with State and national environmental objectives, the
public interest in the public lands, parks, forests
and wildlife refuges in Alaska, and the economic and
social well-being of the Native people and other
residents of Alaska;
|
(j)
|
make recommendations to improve coordination and
consultation between the State and Federal Governments
in making resource allocation and land use decisions;
and
|
(k)
|
make recommendations on ways to avoid conflict
between the State and the Native people in the
selection of public lands.
|
Chapter 11
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
July 15, 1973
Dear Howard:
Recently
we have been having a real argument here in the village about just
what the Regional Corporations can do with the money they have
received so far from the government. Our corporation received
$500,000 as far as we know, and we have been hearing talk that they
want to invest it in real estate and in a building in the city, with
loans and mortgages from the banks. Now this may only be a rumor, but
sometimes this is the only way people in the villages can find out
what is going on.
Now
my friend Wally Morton has been trying to explain to me what a
corporation is and how it works. He has told me about the
stockholders, the board of directors and the managers. This all fits
perfectly well with the description of the Regional Corporations that
my wifes cousins son, Joe Ayagtug, was giving us during
his visit here a couple of months ago. It seems to me that if the
stockholders elect a Board of Directors who hire a Manager, then
until you know who the stockholders are the corporation cant do
much of anything at all.
Also
in AN ACT, there are several sections telling how the money from the
government is going to be divided up between the Village Corporations
and the Regional Corporations according to the Native Enrollment in
each region (Section 7, Section 8). If this is true, then how can the
Regional Corporation make commitments to spend money when they
dont even know yet who the enrolled Natives are in the region,
because this means that they dont know who the stockholders are
and they dont know how much money they are going to
receive.
I
hope that some of your readers can explain these confusion things to
an old man in a village who can only spend his own money when he has
it in his own pocket.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Public Law 92-203
92nd Congress, H. R. 10367
December 18, 1971
AN ACT
REGIONAL CORPORATIONS
Section 7 (a) For purposes of this Act, the State of
Alaska shall be divided by the Secretary within one year after
date of enactment of this Act into twelve geographic regions, with
each region composed as far as practicable of Natives having a
common heritage and sharing common interests. In the absence of
good cause shown to the contrary, such regions shall approximate
the areas covered by the operations of the following existing
Native associations:
(1)
|
Arctic Slope Native Association (Barrow, Point
Hope);
|
(2)
|
Bering Straits Association (Seward Peninsula,
Unalakleet, Saint Lawrence Island);
|
(3)
|
Northwest Alaska Native Association (Kotzebue);
|
(4)
|
Association of Village Council Presidents (southwest
coast, all villages on the Lower Yukon River and the
Lower Kuskokwim River);
|
(5)
|
Tanana Chief's Conference (Koyukuk, Middle and Upper
Yukon Rivers, Upper Kuskokwim River);
|
(6)
|
Cook Inlet Association (Kenai, Tyonek, Eklutna,
Iliamna);
|
(7)
|
Bristol Bay Native Association (Dillingham, Upper
Alaska Peninsula);
|
(8)
|
Aleut League (Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands and
that part of the Alaska Peninsula which is in the Aleut
League);
|
(9)
|
Chugach Native Association (Cordova, Tatitlek, Port
Graham, English Bay, Valdez and Seward);
|
(10)
|
Tlingit-Haida Central Council (southeastern Alaska,
including Metlakatla);
|
(11)
|
Kodiak Area Native Association (all villages on and
around Kodiak Island), and
|
(12)
|
Copper River Native Association (Copper Center,
Glennallen, Chitina, Mentasta).
|
Any dispute over the boundaries of a region or regions shall be
resolved by a board of arbitrators consisting of one person
selected by each of the Native associations involved, and an
additional one or two persons, whichever is needed to make an odd
number of arbitrators, such additional person or persons to be
selected by the arbitrators selected by the Native associations
involved.
(b)
|
The Secretary may, on request made within one year
of the date of enactment of this Act, by
representative and responsible leaders of the Native
associations listed in subsection (a), merge two or
more of the twelve regions: Provided, That the twelve
regions may not be reduced to less than seven, and
there may be no fewer than seven Regional
Corporations.
|
(c)
|
If a majority of all eligible Natives eighteen
years of age or older who are not permanent residents
of Alaska elect, pursuant to subsection 5 (c), to be
enrolled in a thirteenth region for Natives who are
non-residents of Alaska, the Secretary shall establish
such a region for the benefit of the Natives who
elected to be enrolled therein, and they may establish
a Regional Corporation pursuant to this Act.
|
(d)
|
Five incorporators within each region, named by the
Native association in the region, shall incorporate
under the laws of Alaska a Regional Corporation to
conduct business for profit, which shall be eligible
for the benefits of this Act so long as it is
organized and functions in accordance with this Act.
The articles of incorporation shall include provisions
necessary to carry out the terms of this Act.
|
(e)
|
The original articles of incorporation and bylaws
shall be approved by the Secretary before they are
filed, and they shall be submitted for approval within
eighteen months after the date of enactment of this
Act. The articles of incorporation may not be amended
during the Regional Corporation's first five years
without the approval of the Secretary. The Secretary
may withhold approval under this section if in his
judgement inequities among Native individuals or
groups of Native individuals would be created.
|
(f)
|
The management of the Regional Corporation shall be
vested in a board of directors, all of whom, with the
exception of the initial board shall be stockholders
over the age of eighteen. The number, terms and method
of election of members of the board of directors shall
be fixed in the articles of incorporation or bylaws of
the Regional Corporation.
|
(g)
|
The Regional Corporation shall be authorized to
issue such number of shares of common stock, divided
into such classes of shares as may be specified in the
articles of incorporation to reflect the provisions of
this Act, as may be needed to issue one hundred shares
of stock to each Native enrolled in the region
pursuant to Section 5.
|
(H)
|
(1)
|
Except as otherwise provided in paragraph
(2) of this subsection, stock is issued
pursuant to subsection (g) shall carry a
right to vote in elections for the board of
directors and on such other questions as
properly may be presented to stockholders,
shall permit the holder to receive dividends
or other distributions from the Regional
Corporation, and shall vest in the\ holder
all rights of a stockholder in a business
corporation organized under the laws of the
State of Alaska, except that for a period of
twenty years after the date of enactment of
this Act the stock, inchoate rights thereto,
and any dividends paid or distributions made
with respect thereto may not be sold,
pledged, subjected to a lien or judgement
execution, assigned in present or in future,
or otherwise alienated: Provided, That such
limitation shall not apply to transfers of
stock pursuant to a court decree of
separation, divorce or child support.
|
(2)
|
Upon the death of any stockholder,
ownership of such stock shall be transferred
in accordance with his last will and
testament or under the applicable laws of
intestacy, except that (A) during the
twenty-year period after the date of
enactment of this Act such stock shall carry
voting rights only if the holder thereof
through inheritance also is a Native, and
(B), in the event the deceased stockholder
fails to dispose of his stock by will and has
no heirs under the applicable laws of
intestacy, such stock shall escheat to the
Regional Corporation.
|
(3)
|
On January 1 of the twenty-first year
after the year in which this Act is enacted,
all stock previously issued shall be deemed
to be canceled and shares of stock of the
appropriate class shall be issued without
restrictions required by this Act to each
stockholder share for share.
|
|
(I)
|
Seventy per centum of all revenues received by each
Regional Corporation from the timber resources and
subsurface estate patented to it pursuant to this Act
shall be divided annually by the Regional Corporation
among all twelve Regional Corporations organized
pursuant to this section according to the number of
Natives enrolled in each region pursuant to section 5.
The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to
the thirteenth Regional Corporation if organized
pursuant to subsection ( c) hereof.
|
(j)
|
During the five years following the enactment of
this Act, not less than 10% of all corporate funds
received by each of the twelve Regional Corporations
under subsection (I) (revenues from the timber
resources and subsurface estate patented to it
pursuant to this Act), and all other net income, shall
be distributed among the stockholders of the twelve
Regional Corporations. Not less than 45% of funds from
such sources during the first five-year period, and
50% thereafter, shall be distributed among the Village
Corporations in the region and the class of
stockholders who are not residents of those villages,
as provided in subsection to it. In the case of the
thirteenth Regional Corporation, if organized, not
less than 50% of all corporate funds received under
section 6 shall be distributed to the
stockholders.
|
(k)
|
Funds distributed among the Village Corporations
shall be divided among them according to the ratio
that the number of shares of stock registered on the
books of the Regional Corporation in the names of
residents of each village bears to the number of
shares of stock registered in the names of residents
in all villages.
|
(l)
|
Funds distributed to a Village Corporation may be
withheld until the village has submitted a plan for
the use of the money that is satisfactory to the
Regional Corporation. The Regional Corporation may
require a village plan to provide for joint ventures
with other villages, and for joint financing of
projects undertaken by the Regional Corporation that
will benefit the region generally. In the event of
disagreement over the provisions of the plan, the
issues in disagreement shall be submitted to
arbitration, as shall be provided for in the articles
of incorporation of the Regional Corporation.
|
(m)
|
When funds are distributed among Village
Corporations in a region, an amount computed as
follows shall be distributed as dividends to the class
of stockholders who are not residents of those
villages: The amount distributed as dividends shall
bear the same ratio to the amount distributed among
the Village Corporations that the number of shares of
stock registered on the books of the Regional
Corporation in the names of non-residents of villages
bears to the number of shares of stock register in the
names of village residents: Provided, That an
equitable portion of the amount distributed as
dividends may be withheld and combined with Village
Corporation funds to finance projects that will
benefit the region generally.
|
(n)
|
The Regional Corporation may undertake on behalf of
one or more of the Village Corporations in the region
any project authorized and financed by them.
|
(o)
|
The accounts of the Regional Corporation shall be
audited annually in accordance with generally accepted
auditing standards by independent certified public
accountants or independent licensed public
accountants, certified or licensed by a regulatory
authority of the State or the United States. The
audits shall be conducted at the place or places where
the accounts of the Regional Corporation are normally
kept. All books, accounts, financial records, reports,
files, and other papers, things, or property belonging
to or in use by the Regional Corporation and necessary
to facilitate the audits shall be available to the
person or persons conducting the audits; and full
facilities for verifying transactions with the
balances or securities held by depositories, fiscal
agent and custodians shall be afforded to such person
or persons. Each audit report or a fair and reasonably
detailed summary thereof shall be transmitted to each
stockholder, to the Secretary of the Interior and to
the Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs of the
Senate and the House of Representatives.
|
(p)
|
In the event of any conflict between the provisions
of this section and the laws of the State of Alaska,
the provisions of this section shall prevail.
|
(q)
|
Two or more Regional Corporations may contract with
the same business management group for investment
services and advice regarding the investment of
corporate funds.
|
Chapter 12
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
July 23, 1973
Dear Howard:
I
have been thinking about the last letter I wrote to you about the
corporations and what they can or should do according to AN ACT.
Talking with my friend Wally Morton about these kinds of things like
stockholders rights, the responsibility of the board of
directors, and corporation charters has been very interesting for me.
Even though I am an old man, I am still very curious and like to know
how new things work. But what troubles me is the fact that I
dont seem to have much of a choice about the whole process. I
have to learn about corporations out of self-defense, not because I
am necessarily interested in them.
I
asked Wally if it was better to be a resident in a village or a
stockholder in a village corporation. He said it was a silly question
because I could be both and if I didnt want to be a
stockholder, I didnt have to enroll at a Native. I had to
remind him, and myself too, that I was a Native, regardless of
whether I had enrolled or not. But then we both began to realize that
maybe this was not going to be quite so true in the future. After
all, in 20 years, anyone will be able to buy stock and become a
shareholder in these "Native" corporations, while "Natives" being
born in the next 20 years aren't Natives according to AN ACT. But all
of these benefits that we Natives are supposed to be getting by being
allowed to enroll ourselves as stockholders in Native corporations
are based on the taking of what was ours originally. It belonged to
all of us and all of our children and it was worth far more than all
of these dollars we are supposed to receive.
You
see what is bothering me, Howard. I have never been a person who has
been afraid of progress, even though many times I prefer the
traditional ways of our fathers. To me every change must be checked
to see if it will be better or worse than what it is to replace.
Change is not always progress. AN ACT is bringing many changes to our
way of life, and I fear that not all of them will be helpful for our
people. The sad part is that we had a better chance to deal with
mechanical things like airplanes and snow machines, than with the
changes that this piece of paper, AN ACT, is bringing so quickly to
our villages. It is almost like a disease that will pass over us for
20 years and leave no living Natives in its wake.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 13
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
July 30, 1973
Dear Howard:
There
were some people here in the village who heard about the last letter
I wrote to the Tundra Times. They were upset because I had
written that AN ACT was like a disease that would leave no living
Natives in 20 years. Some people got mad because they think that the
money we are to get will be helpful to our people. Other people just
didnt understand what was troubling me so much. Now I can see
that many things that I had written about in earlier letters were
adding up for me to say that in the last letter.
My
youngest daughter had a baby girl last week, and we all realized
that, unlike her older brother, who is three years old, she will
never be enrolled as a Native in Alaska. By the time she grows up and
has her own family, anybody will be able to buy and sell Native land,
anybody will be a stockholder in the Native Corporations, and brother
will be set against brother according to which was enrolled. Wally
pointed out that I had always said that I was a Native whether I was
enrolled or not--and that is true. But I realized that, while 20
years may be a long time in the life of one person, it is nothing in
the life of a people. I thought about my children and my
grandchildren and their children. What does 20 years mean to them
before they are born, before they can know the land and way of life
of their parents?
To
be honest, I dont know what our life will be like when we have
corporations in every village and our land taxed and sold. But I am
afraid we will lose whatever control over our lives that we ever had.
Will our children have to go to the city to make money so that they
can eventually come back to their grandparents land some day
like rich tourists? Will they too complain of the crowded cities and
cry when they have to return?
These
questions bother me because every time a child is stolen from us to
be educated, we are made to feel as nothing. Our children are treated
as orphans because their parents way of life is being
destroyed. Why should this be so? I am an old man, Howard, but my
vision is set on the future as well as the past. Sometimes I wonder
what will become of our people if they want dollars more than their
own land and they forget their children.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 14
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
August 6, 1973
Dear Mr. Rock:
I
have been following this last series of letters from Naugga Ciunerput
to the Tundra Times with great interest. For an old man, it
constantly amazes me how he is always thinking about these serious
problems and he is never afraid to consider new evidence and new
possibilities. One of the news items that has caught our attention is
the Energy Crisis in the Lower 48 and the gasoline shortage.
In
the Tundra Times it says that many Natives are in favor of the
Alaska Oil Pipeline and that Native leaders have gone to Washington
to lobby for the Pipeline Construction Bill in Congress. It is
interesting that both the Pipeline Bill and AN ACT are specifically
aimed against judicial review and litigation under law. Perhaps "justice" is not what the government is seeking in these cases, but
rather "expediency" and getting on with "economic development."
If
you remember, I wrote in an earlier letter that my father was a
member of a conservative group that opposed the construction of an
Alaskan pipeline. I had told him that this stand was anti-Native
because half of their land settlement depended on oil revenues from
this pipeline. Well, he has been sending me some newspaper clippings
on the so-called Energy Crisis in the United States. It seems that
there is no shortage of refining capacity or crude oil supplies in
Europe, for example, by American-owned companies that are rationing
supplies in the U.S. They have been increasing their capacity
overseas much faster than in the U.S.A. Then they advertize for more
consumption in Europe, while blaming the gasoline shortage in the
U.S. on the "wasteful" driving habits of the average citizen. My
father says that if you watch T.V. commercials, you would think that
oil companies invented Ecology and were now going to teach everyone
how to drive.
These
same oil companies are charting the economic development and social
progress of Alaska right now. Maybe we should ask the people of the
North Slope Borough what kind of neighbors the wealthy oil companies
really are.
It
is very hard for me to be against the Alaska Oil Pipeline when I
realize that the Native Land Claim Settlement is so dependent on the
oil revenue money. But when I read about the situation in other
oil-producing areas of the world, a 2% royalty on oil with a $500
million dollar upper limit seems to be a bad joke played on Native
people. They will be pumping out oil for many years after the money
for the Natives has dried up, and the pipeline will be the only
monument.
Sincerely,
Wally Morton
Chapter 15
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
August 15, 1973
Dear Howard:
Do
you remember when I told you that I was trying to learn how to speak
the English language correctly with Wally Morton, my ex-VISTA friend
for a teacher? Well, last night I almost gave up the whole thing. We
had a fellow from Anchorage out here in the village, who was a
consultant to the Regional Corporation. He was trying to explain to
us villagers how corporations were set up.
Now
I thought that I knew a little bit about the subject since Wally had
explained to me about shareholders, stocks, and the Board of
Directors, but that turned out not event to be the half of it. This
fellow told us so much about economics and law that my head is still
spinning. There was stuff about business cycles, fiscal policy,
profit ledgers, double-entry accounting, equity, liability, auditing,
initial investment and principal. I always though that the principal
was the fellow in the B.I.A. schools that whipped the students who
had no interest in their work, but it turns out that the principal is
the money that earns you interest if you give it to somebody else to
use. Apparently, from the way he put it, you dont even have to
do any work if you have this principal.
He
then tried to explain inflation to us which really got me confused.
The Federal government is supposed to print up the money in
Washington, D.C. If they make too many dollars, then each one can buy
a little less and in order to stay where you were, you have to be
earning more. To stay still, you have to go faster I guess.
Personally, I never did like money very much anyway. In the old days
we just bartered and traded for what we needed, but nowadays we seem
to be needing so many more things--including money. I wonder if this
is also inflation.
We
were also told about marginal utility curves for supply and demand,
and the fellow kept talking about guns and butter. To decide which to
buy, he said we would compare the utility of an additional unit of
butter with an additional unit of guns. Well, if we lose our hunting
and trapping rights as well as our land and we cantf fish
anymore, neither guns or butter will be much use. He sort of got
angry with me and said I didnt really understand what "utility"
meant. With all his talk about "guns and butter," he didnt know
what a winter in the village meant either.
This
could go on and on, Howard, but it just worries me when I realize how
little we are prepared for the age of corporations which is dawning
in our villages. According to AN ACT, Section 8 (a), the villages
wont even get the land they stand on if they arent
organized into a corporation. So you can see how this worries an old
man.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Public Law 92-203
92nd Congress, H. R. 10367
December 18, 1971
AN ACT
Section 8 (a) The Native residents of each Native village
entitled to receive lands and benefits under this Act shall
organize as a business for profit or non-profit corporation under
the laws of the State before the Native village may receive patent
to lands or benefits under this Act except as otherwise provided.
Chapter 16
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
August 23, 1973
Dear Howard:
We
are still trying to figure out how AN ACT is going to affect the way
we do things in the village. Wally and I were reading Section 21 of
AN ACT, where it talks about taxation. Apparently as long as we
dont do anything with our land, we will pay no taxes. This is
for 20 years from the passage of AN ACT, or until 1991. If the land
is developed, leased, or in any way makes any rent, royalty, revenue,
profit or proceeds, it will be taxed according to Section 21 (e). I
guess that means if any Natives make any money with one hand, they
will turn right around and pay it back out with the other hand.
The
people from the Regional Corporation told us that our village had a
choice between a profit corporation and a non-profit corporation. We
are still waiting to find out exactly what the difference is, but it
will probably have something to do with taxation. I wonder if there
is such a thing as non-profit Natives and profit Natives? Personally,
I dont want any substantial revenues, I just want subsistence
hunting and fishing and no taxes. But by December 18, 1991, the taxes
will start on the land even for this non-profit Native, if he should
live so long.
But
why taxation anyway? The answer, as Wally points out, is in Section 2
(c) of AN ACT. The Secretary is supposed to be making a study of all
federal services to Native people in Alaska. If he reads Section 2
(b) of AN ACT, the Secretary will probably say in his report that
there are not supposed to be any permanent racially defined
institutions, rights, privileges or obligations so federal services
will be phased out now that Natives are such wealthy citizens of the
United States. We will be told that if we want these health,
education and welfare services, we should provide them ourselves.
That is supposed to be self-determination.
The
irony of this whole thing, Howard, is that in the past we were able
to provide for ourselves. But our land has been taken, the fish and
game destroyed, our children stolen from us, and our culture put on
display for the tourists and museum. AN ACT will not bring true
self-determination, it is really one more step in the plan for
termination of the Native way of life in Alaska It makes me sad and
angry just to think about these things.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Public Law 92-203
92nd Congress, H. R. 10367
December 18, 1971
AN ACT
TAXATION
Section 21 (a)
|
Revenues originating from the Alaska Native Fund shall
not be subject to any form of Federal, State or local
taxation at the time of receipt by a Regional
Corporation, Village Corporation or individual Native
through dividend distributions or in any other manner.
This exemption shall not apply to income from the
investment of such revenues.
|
(b)
|
The receipt of shares of stock in the Regional or
Village Corporations by or on behalf of any Native shall
not be subject to any form of Federal, State or local
taxation.
|
(c)
|
The receipt of land or any interest therein pursuant
to this Act or of cash in order to equalize the values of
properties exchanged pursuant to subsection 22 (f) shall
not be subject to any form of Federal, State or local
taxation. The basis for computing gain or loss on
subsequent sale or other disposition of such land or
interest in land for purposes of any Federal, State or
local tax imposed on or measured by income shall be the
fair value of such land or interest in land at the time
of receipt.
|
(d)
|
Real property interests conveyed, pursuant to this
Act, to a Native individual, Native group, or Village or
Regional Corporation which are not developed or leased to
third parties, shall be exempt from State and local real
property taxes for a period of twenty years after the
date of enactment of this Act: Provided, that municipal
taxes, local real property taxes or local assessments may
be imposed upon leased or developed real property within
the jurisdiction of any governmental unit under the laws
of the State: Provided further, That easements,
rights-of-way, leaseholds, and similar interests in such
real property may be taxed in accordance with State or
local law. All rents, royalties, profits and other
revenues or proceeds derived from such property interests
shall be taxable to the same extent as such revenues or
proceeds are taxable when received by a non-Native
individual or corporation.
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(e)
|
Real property interests conveyed pursuant to this Act
to a Native individual, Native group, or Village or
Regional Corporation shall, so long as the fee therein
remains not subject to State or local taxes on real
estate, continue to be regarded as public lands for the
purpose of computing the Federal share of any highway
project pursuant to title 23 of the United States Code,
as amended and supplemented, for the purpose of the
Johnson-O'Malley Act of April 16, 1934, as amended (25
U.S.C. 452), and for the purpose of Public Laws 815 and
874, 81st Congress (64 Stat. 967,100), and so
long as there are also no substantialrevenues from such
lands, continue to receive forest fire protection
services from the United States at no cost.
|
Chapter 17
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
August 30, 1973
Dear Howard:
I
have been thinking a lot recently about the problems of leadership in
the village. I have been trying to compare what is happening today
with the way things used to be in years gone by. Everybody who comes
to talk with us tells us that we need to develop leadership, but
nobody wants to know about the leadership we used to have and even
the leadership we have today.
When
Wally Morton, my ex-VISTA friend, first came to the village, he set
about to find out who the chief was. It took him a while to realize
that traditional Natives didnt have hereditary chiefs, but when
there was a problem everybody knew just where to turn for help. The
leaders were the respected men in the villages who knew how to do the
necessary things for us to survive and get along. They were the
people who knew how to deal with the forces of nature and the
relationships between the Native people in the villages.
Nowadays,
the leaders seem to be the people who can best deal with the white
world with its government bureaucracies, school officials, courts and
armies. They have to be better at hunting dollars than fish and game.
They have to bridge the gap between the white world and the Native
way of life. The danger is that they may fall into the gap between
them or end up representing the white world in the Native village
rather than representing the Native villages in the white world. It
is not always the fault of the leaders, it just seems like that is
what is happening.
We
dont want to become better white men or beat them at their own
game. We just want a chance to develop our traditional values into a
satisfying way of life that we can understand. AN ACT is forcing us
into new ways of organizing ourselves and doing things before we
really understand what is happening. Even when the Natives were able
to get together, AN ACT split us up into 12 regions and limited our
ability to act as a united group. As I see it, AN ACT could split the
Native peoples even more, set region against region, village against
village and as we said in an early letter, set brother against
brother according to which was registered as a NATIVE. AN ACT is based on competition; the Native way is based on
cooperation.
I
read in the Tundra Times that you were ill. Well, Howard, we
all hope you are feeling better soon.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 18
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
September 7, 1973
Dear Howard,
Last
week we had a visitor here in the village from a University in
California. He was a pleasant fellow named Seth McGraffee, who said
that he was an anthropologist. He was real interested in Native
culture and customs and wanted to talk to some of the older people in
the village. Well, I told him a couple of old stories and a few tall
tales and darned if he didnt write them all down in a notebook.
At first he said that he was doing a little summer research, but by
the second day he said that it was going to be a thesis. By the third
day, he was going to write a book about our village and by the time
he was ready to leave it was going to be a movie film too. These
young people sure do have a lot of big ideas when they first set foot
here in these "primitive" villages.
He
seemed a bit disappointed that we had snow machines, outboard motors,
and rifles, but it was certainly nice that he was interested in the
way we Native people used to live our lives. We did have some serious
conversations about the problem of passing on our Native heritage to
the younger generation, but he didnt really seem to understand
all of the pressures on our younger people. They see an entire world
beyond their grasp, while this young fellow Seth has the resources to
travel freely between these worlds. This means that he can be
interested in Native culture this week and be back in California next
week. Maybe if our young people had this freedom they would see how
empty that world is if what Seth told us was true.
I
asked Seth if he had read AN ACT yet, and was surprised when he said
no he hadnt. The three of us, Wally, Seth, and me got to
talking about AN ACT and how it was going to affect Native life in
Alaska. We asked him how the research he was doing was going to help
Native people deal with these problems. At first, he said that it
would be necessary to preserve as much of Native culture as possible
before it disappears. While this is a noble goal, it still misses the
main problem. We are the Native people. What we do is the Native
culture. How are we going to react to these changes? We cant
always go back to the past, but we can and must have a voice in our
future.
I
asked Seth if anthropologists knew what the difference was between a
village, a corporation and a village corporation? Could he tell us
what the difference would be in our lives if we had a profit or a
non-profit village corporation? What would be the best set of by-laws
to maintain, not preserve, Native values? We dont want a dead
culture in a museum, we want a live culture here in Alaska. Maybe he
should go and talk to some of the older men in Washington to find out
what they had in mind when they wrote AN ACT. That is the kind of
research we Natives really need.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 19
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
September 15, 1997
Dear Howard:
Some
of the people here in the village who have been reading the letters
in the Tundra Times think that some part of them are too
strong or negative. They think that because I am an old man I live
too much in the past. These same people think that Wally Morton, my
ex-VISTA friend, is too young and idealistic, so his judgement cannot
be trusted. But I believe that we are just being realistic about what
is happening to Native people in Alaska.
If
you remember, AN ACT (Public Law 92-203) says in the beginning that "there is an immediate need for a fair and just settlement of all
claims by Natives and Native Groups of Alaska"-- Section 2 (a). In
the first place, the need for a "fair and Just" settlement is not
only immediate now, it has been for some time. Where was the
Congress before there was an oil strike and an energy crisis? The
Natives and Native Groups have had the same needs and claims for some
time.
In
the first letter that I wrote to you, Howard, the problem about the
power of the Secretary to make decisions was bothering me. All of the
power in one set of hands is not always the best way to make sure
that a decision is fair and just. Wally says that an agreement with
all of the discretionary poser on one side is a pretty one-sided
agreement. The Secretary even had the power to decide who was a
Native if he chose to do so!
When
we look at what has happened since AN ACT was passed, we can see more
clearly what these discretionary decisions mean. The Secretary
decided not to extend the enrollment for one month, not even thirty
days. The Secretary was going to disqualify most of the larger Native
villages as "modern and urban" until Native complaints finally led to
the Secretarys lawyers reading the provisions of AN ACT. The
Horton ruling on land allotments changed the eligibility requirements
for Alaska Natives to claim allotments. Three out of the eight
villages left off the Secretarys list of Native villages just
happen to be on the pipeline corridor.
In
every case, Native people and Native groups spend their time, energy
and money to deal with problems caused by decisions made under the
Secretarys discretionary power. The provisions of AN ACT leave
so much up to the Secretary to decide that we never know what will go
wrong next. Is this what is meant by a fair and just
settlement? As far as this old man is concerned, it is not really so
for Native people.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 20
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
September 23, 1973
Dear Howard:
On
the very first page of AN ACT (Public Law 92-203), there is a series
of statements which is the Declaration of Policy by the U.S. Congress
with regard to Alaska Natives. In Section 2 (b), It says the
following things:
"(b)
the settlement should be accomplished rapidly, with certainty, in
conformity with the real economic and social needs of Natives,
without litigation, with maximum participation by Natives in
decisions affecting their rights and property, without
establishing any permanent racially defined institutions, rights,
privileges, or obligations, without creating a reservation system
or lengthy wardship or trusteeship, and without adding to the
categories of property and institutions enjoying special tax
privileges or to the legislation establishing special
relationships between the United States Government and the State
of Alaska;"
Wally
Morton, my ex-VISTA friend, says that if you leave out the section on
Native participation, you have an excellent history of what the
Congress wishes it had never done with Native people in the
lower 48. If they had a magic want, they would probably do away with
treaties, reservations, wardship, trusteeship and maybe even Indian
tribes in general. He says that this process used to be called
termination, but now they sometimes call it
self-determination.
I
figure that they might just leave out the Native participation and
let the Secretary determine what are the "real economic and social
needs" of Alaska Natives. In AN ACT, the very next part says the
following things--Section 2 (c):
"(c) no provision of this ACT shall replace or
diminish any right, privilege or obligation of Natives as citizens of the
United States or of the State of Alaska to protect and promote the
rights or welfare of Natives as citizens of the United States or
of Alaska; the Secretary is authorized and directed, together with
other appropriate agencies of the United States Government, to
make a study of all Federal programs primarily designed to benefit
Native people and report back to the Congress with his
recommendations for the future management and operation of these
programs within three years of the date of enactment of this ACT;"
This
is exactly where the danger is for Native people. What is the
relationship between Native rights and Citizen rights? Will we lose
our Native rights based on our historical relationship with the
Federal Government which goes back before Alaska was even a State in
order to get citizenship rights which were granted by the Federal
Government to Indian people in 1924?
Every
Native complaint against the operations and procedures of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs can be used as a reason to undercut these programs
instead of improving the services. Wally says that the Federal
Government terminated the Menominee tribe in Wisconsin by bargaining
with them over a claims settlement that they had been awarded. If
they wanted the money they had to give up their special relationship
as an Indian tribe to the Federal Government. It turned out to be
such a bad bargain that ever since they have been trying to change
back to their original status. The Menominee had valuable timber that
many people wanted. What do Alaska Natives have that everyone wants?
With oil, the stakes were higher so the pot was made a little
sweeter.
We
have seen how some of the Secretarys decisions have worked out
for Native people in Alaska. Let us now wait and see what the
recommendations of the Secretarys study are and how they are
carried out. Maybe my fears are groundless, but even an old man can
tell which way the wind is blowing when a storm is coming.
Your friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 21
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
October 30, 1973
Dear Howard:
Well,
Wally and I have been very busy trying to prepare for the coming
winter months. The work is hard and requires much physical endurance,
but it is also rewarding to know one has done a good days work.
Wally and I can see the results of our work and will benefit for in
later. When the wind is blowing, it is 40 degrees below, etc. Wally
and I will be sitting in our warm cabin enjoying the warmth of our
work.
Sometimes
I wonder if the people who are working in the Regional offices or
B.I.A. offices making good money think as we do after they have done
a days work. Hopefully, we will benefit later from the work
they are doing now.
As
you probably know, Howard, in December theyre having a
convention in Anchorage and at the same time money authorized under
Section 6 (a) will be released to the Natives.
Over
130 million dollars will be available for distribution to the
regional corporations. That is a lot of money, Howard. I am used to
dealing in a few cents and an occasional dollar, and I know many of
my Native friends can say the same. What is going to happen to our
way of life once we begin to receive lumps of money in these amounts?
Will the poor remain poor and the new well-to-do become more
comfortable in the life style they are fast embracing?
Wally
said the great White leader from Washington will also certify the
Alaska Native Enrollment, complying with Section 5 of AN ACT. This is
sad because after that is done, all Natives enrolled will have a
number and all Natives that are not enrolled will be left out in the
cold. It will be a sad day for the Native people when the Secretary
types and signs his name to that enrollment document.
As
for this old man, I think tomorrow I will take Wally and show him the
beauty that covers this land and at the same time try not to foresee
what activity will disrupt my villages peaceful, sleepy
atmosphere, before winter sets in. Take care, old friend.
Your Native
friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Public Law 92-203
92nd Congress, H. R. 10367
December 18, 1971
AN ACT
ENROLLMENT
- Section 5 (a) The Secretary shall prepare within two years
from the date of enactment of this Act a roll of all Natives
who were born on or before, and who are living on, the date of
enactment of this Act. Any decision of the Secretary regarding
eligibility for enrollment shall be final.
- (b) The roll prepared by the Secretary shall show for each
Native, among other things, the region and the village or other
place in which he resided on the date of the 1970 census
enumeration, and he shall be enrolled according to such
residence. Except as provided in subsection ( c), a Native
eligible for enrollment who is not, when the roll is prepared,
a permanent resident of one of the twelve regions established
pursuant to subsection 7 (a) shall be enrolled by the Secretary
in one of the twelve regions, giving priority in the following
order to --
- (1) The region where the Native resided on the 1970
census date if he had resided there without interruption for
two or more years;
- (2) the region where the Native previously resided for
an aggregate of ten years or more;
- (3) the region where the Native was born; and
- (4) the region from which an ancestor of the Native
came: The Secretary may enroll a Native in a different
region when necessary to avoid enrolling members of the same
family in different regions or otherwise avoid
hardship.
- (c) A Native eligible for enrollment who is eighteen
years of age or older and is not a permanent resident of one
of the twelve regions may, on the date he files an
application for enrollment, elect to be enrolled in a
thirteenth region for Natives who are non-residents of
Alaska, if such region is established pursuant to
sub-section 7 (c). If such region is not established, he
shall be enrolled as provided in subsection (b). His
election shall apply to all dependent members of his
household who are less than eighteen years of age, but shall
not affect the enrollment of anyone else.
Chapter 22
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
November 7, 1973
Dear Howard,
An
old friend of mine stopped by and spent a few days with Wally and me
last week. Charlie has a trap line up river and comes down for a
visit every freeze-up to gather his supplies for the winter and also
catch up on all the news.
Charlie,
Wally, and I were looking at the October 24 issue of the Tundra
Times and were especially interested in the article concerning a
special Handbook that has been prepared to help Native people
understand the "Corporation game." As you know, Howard, in AN ACT, we
have to form corporations as stated in Sections 7 and 8.
Charlie
was confused about what the handbook said about a corporation being
like a motor. He said that there are many different parts in a motor
and when they all work together, they can do things that no single
part could do by itself. I thought that corporations are made up of
people. Or are they? Wally said of course corporations are
made up of people. But then does it mean that people who operate the
corporations and people who are served by a corporation must act as
though they are "parts of a motor"?
It
all makes me wonder if we shouldnt at least begin to listen to
those persons who have been trying to warn us Natives about the great
danger--"the dehumanizing effects"--of trying to follow the White
mans ways . . . . Maybe the description of the White mans
culture as a "machine civilization" is right after all. And we should
think about that. Is it a way of life in which the machine rules and
men have to adjust and conform to its needs and demands? Do we
really want that?
Charlie,
Wally and I talked about what the White mans machine-motorized
civilization has done to the world: destroyed the beautiful land,
poisoned the air and waters, and killed off so much of the wildlife
(our brothers)--not to mention the way the White mans machines
have killed so many millions of people in their crazy wars.
I
guess in a motorized civilization, men become like machines--not like
feeling human beings. Howard, Im getting worried. I dont
want the Natives to be part of or even served by "Something like a
motor."
Your Native
friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 23
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
November 14, 1973
Dear Howard:
The
other day Wally (ex-VISTA friend) and I were discussing Section 7 (I)
which reads:
"Seventy per centum of all revenues
received by each regional corporation from the timber resources and
subsurface estate patented to it pursuant to this Act shall be
divided annually by the regional corporations among all twelve
regional corporations organized pursuant to this section
according to the number of Natives enrolled in each region
pursuant to Section 5."
Wally
was wondering if this section also involves the exploration part of
obtaining the subsurface riches. He said that if a region spent two
million dollars trying to extract their subsurface riches, how much
of that will they be able to write off on the 30%--70% distribution?
Should all the regions pay for their exploration work? I asked Wally
what "subsurface" means, and he thought it was anything below the
surface. Howard, do you know what "subsurface" means? Wally and I are
a little confused right now. We are wondering if gravel was a
subsurface particle or a surface particle.
As
you probably know, a lot of money has been made from the sale of
gravel. In fact, all around our village there are good gravel pits.
Will our village be able to claim gravel as a surface estate, or will
the regional corporation say that it is a subsurface particle?
As
for this old man, I can see many problems that will arise from
Section 7 (i). I only hope our people will solve these problems so
that those who should benefit (village people) have the final
voice.
Your Native
friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
Chapter 24
Lands End Village
State of Alaska
November 26, 1973
Dear Howard:
A
friend of mine left off some old copies of the Anchorage Daily
Times, which told about the Secretary of Interior, Rogers C.B.
Morton and his fantastic Six Day/3,000 Mile "Visit to Alaska" this
past summer. It is certainly interesting to read old newspapers when
you know what has really happened since then. One of the things that
caught my eye was the following paragraph in an article about the
Secretarys visit to Valdez:
The secretary said the building of the pipeline was
analogous to the construction of the pyramids of Egypt in that it
is the most expensive and extensive man-made venture to date in
history. - Anchorage Daily Times, August 20, 1973 (page 2)
Well,
I asked my friend Wally about the Egyptian pyramids--who built them
and why? He said that they were built by Egyptian Kings with slave
labor for religious purposes like preserving the royal bodies as
mummies. Maybe the Pipeline is being built by the Government for the
religious purpose of preserving the American economy, but now they
wont need slaves since there are so many unemployed people.
When
I read that passage to Wally, he just laughed and asked me if the
pipeline would be visible from the Moon. He said that the Brazilian
government is building a 3,000 mile highway through the Amazon jungle
which they claim will be one of the only man-made objects visible
from the Moon. Wally also pointed out that the astronauts in the
space satellite could see a big cloud of pollution from the Black
Mesa power plant at Four Corners in the American southwest.
Wally
said that the Brazilians claim they are opening the last frontier and
integrating the Natives into the national society (and killing the
rest). The Anchorage Daily Times said that Secretary Morton is
visiting the last frontier and we can all see how Natives have been
integrated into the American Way of Life. First they take our land,
water, game and fish--then our children- and if there is anything
left they will build a museum or make a movie to preserve it. Well,
Howard, I guess we will have our monument if they have a nice big oil
spill. Maybe they will be able to see it all the way from the Moon or
if there is enough oil, maybe even from the top of one of the new
office buildings in Anchorage.
Your Native
friend,
Naugga Ciunerput
APPENDIX
Corporate Leadership and Management
of the
Twelve Regional Corporations
1974
ALEUT CORPORATION
425 G. St.. Suite 840
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 274-1506
Corporate Staff
Carl E. Moses, President
William Childs, general manager
Lillie H. McGarvey, secretary-treasurer
Larry Merculieff, director, land development
George Pletnikoff, assistant director of land
department
John Gundersen, business investment analyst
Avis Toberer, Comptroller
Aleut League Staff
Michael Swetzof, President
Lillie H. McGarvey, secretary-treasurer
Vera Skaflestad, director, education department
Anthony Philemonoff, coordinator, Indian education
program
Janet Malone, contract administrator
Attorneys
J. Anthony "Tony" Smith of Kay, Miller, Libbey,
Kelly, Christie and Fuld of Anchorage Wald, Harkrader and Ross
of Washington, D.C.
Auditors
Coopers & Lybrand, C.P.A.'s
|
AHTNA INCORPORATED
P.O. Box 823
Copper Center, AK
99513
Phone: 822-3476
Corporate Staff
Dean Olson, executive director
Herbert Snelcer, deputy director
Nicholas Jackson, finance manager
Board Officers
Robert Marshall, president
Christine Yazzie, vice-president
Marsha Major, secretary
Attorney
Robert Goldberg, Anchorage
Consultants
Arctic Environmental
Information and Data Center,
University of Alaska
|
ARCTIC SLOPE REGIONAL CORPORATION
Box 566
Barrow, AK 99723
Phone: 852-6930
Corporate Staff
Joseph Upicksoun, president
Larry Dinneen, executive vice-president
Jacob Adams, land director
Elijah Rock, assistant land director
Oliver Leavitt, treasurer
Kazasji Dadachanji, comptroller
Dave Fauske, grant and training coordinator
Jack Frantz, fuel allocation supervisor
Nelson Ahvakana, corporate secretary
Sue Zienke, assistant corporate secretary
Ed Hopson, housing
Board Officers
Joseph Upicksoun, president, chairman of the board
Edward Hopson, Sr., 1st vice-president
Jacob Adams, 2nd vice-president
Nelson Ahvakana, secretary
Oliver Leavitt, treasurer
Attorneys
Davis, Wright, Todd, Riese and Jones, of Seattle
Merdes, Schrebel & DeLisio, Fairbanks
Uriel Dutton of Fulbright, Crooker & Javorski, oil
and gas attorneys of Houston, Texas
Consultants
Arctic Environmental Information & Data
Center, University of Alaska
Price Waterhouse & Co., Seattle, financial
consultants
Thomas Kelly, oil and gas consultant
Subsidiaries
Inupiop Builders (non-union housing contractor)
Tundra Tour, Inc. (tourism) Eskimos, Inc.
(sub-contractor, construction, union)
|
BERING STRAITS NATIVE CORPORATION
P.O. Box 1008
Nome, AK 99762
Phone: 443-5252
Corporate Staff
Gary Langley, Sr., executive vice-president
George Walters, vice-president
Cliff Weyiouanna, assistant vice president, village
affairs
Richard Atuk, assistant vice-president, land use
planning
JoAnn Kost, acting controller
Robert Fagerstrom, personnel & training officer
Diane Tweet, land use planning specialist
Sharon Nagozruk, research specialist
Board Officers
Jerome Trigg, Sr., president
Martin Olson, 1st vice-president
Steve Dickson, 2nd vice-president
Charles Fagerstrom, treasurer
Henry Ahgupak, secretary
Attorneys
Jon Larson, Nome
Barry Jackson, Fairbanks
John Hendrickson, Anchorage
Consultants
Carolyn Stevens, geologist
George Bell, management consultant
Ron Trevithick, Touche-Ross, Anchorage
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BRISTOL BAY NATIVE CORPORATION, INC.
P.O. Box 237
Dillingham, AK 99576
Phone: 842-3230
426 Eagle Street
Room D
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 277-9511
Corporate Staff
Nels A. Anderson, Jr., executive director
Ted Angasan, deputy director
H. Noble Dick, controller
Wilson Jerue, accountant
William P. Johnson, land planner
Robert Clark, program planner
Board Officers
Harvey Samuelson, president
Donald Neilson, vice-president
Allen Aspelund, secretary
Boris Kosbruk, treasurer
Attorneys
William Bailey of Croft, Bailey, Guetschow & Bankston,
Anchorage
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CHUGACH NATIVES, INC.
912 E. 15th
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 274-4558
Corporate Staff
Cecil Barnes, president
Richard Jensen, administrative director
James LaBelle, deputy director
Richard Nelson, job recruiter
Board Officers
Cecil Barnes, president
Walter Meganach, 1st vice-president
Bud Johnson, 2nd vice-president
Betty Ditman, secretary
Frank Siemion, treasurer
Attorneys
Clark Gruening, Stanley McCutcheon, Anchorage
Consultants
Touche Ross & Company
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CALISTA CORPORATION
516 Denali
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 279-5516
Kuskokwin Office Bldg.
Bethel, AK 99559
Phone: 543-2191
Corporate Staff
Robert Schenker, general manager
Lou Lively, land planning specialist
Nelson Angapak, land planning assistant
Alice Wells, accountant
Glen Fredericks, area office manager, Sleetmute
Owen Lewis, area office manager, Bethel
Board Officers
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COOK INLET REGION, INC.
1211 West 27th
Anchorage, AK 99503
Phone: 274-8638
Corporate Staff
Ralph A. (Andy) Johnson, president
Larry Oskolkoff, land manager
Richard DeWeil, director. planning and training
Andy Kamkoff, village coordinator
Doreen Lowe, administrative assistant
Board Officers
John Colberg, Jr., chairman of the board
Ralph A. (Andy) Johnson, president
Robert W. Rude, 1st vice-president
Agnes Brown, 2nd vice-president
Gosta Dagg, 3rd vice-president
Charles Akers, treasurer
Jim Vollentine, secretary
Attorneys
Allen McGrath, Anchorage
Edward Weinberg of Duncan, Brown, Weirman & Palmer
Washington, D.C.
Consultants
Resource Associates of Alaska, Inc., land consultants,
Fairbanks
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DOYON, LTD.
527 3rd Avenue
Fairbanks, AK 99701
Phone: 452-4755 or 452-5756
Corporate Staff
John Sackett, president
Margie Bauman, administrative assistant
Sam Kito, executive vice-president
James Immel, vice-president of finance
Robert Jenks, director of lands
Bill Timme, general counsel
Richard Frank, director of sub-regional offices
Ted Charles, subregional officer, Tok
Jonathan Soloman, subregional officer, Ft. Yukon
Ernest Holmberg, subregional officer, McGrath
Board Officers
John Sackett, president
Wally Peters, vice-president
Lucy Carlo, secretary
Mike Harper, treasurer
Attorneys
Bill Timme - on staff
Art Lazarus, Washington, D.C.
Consultant
Marvin Andreson, geologist
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KONIAG, INC. REGIONAL CORPORATION, INC.
Box 746
Kodiak, AK 99615
Phone: 486-4147
Corporate Staff
Jack Wick president
Harry Carter, assistant administrator
Melvin Reft, assistant administrative assistant
Karl Armstrong, land department
Allen Panamaroff, stock registrar
Betty Wallin, office manager
Board Officers
Jack Wick, president
Harry Carter, vice-president
Karl Armstrong, secretary
Perry R. Eaton, treasurer
Attorneys
Roy Madsen, Kodiak
Edward Weinberg of Duncan, Brown, Weinman & Palmer,
Washington, D.C.
Auditors
Coopers & Lynbrand, CPA's
Consultant
Barry Fink of Wyman, Bautzer, Rothman & Kuchel,
Washington, D.C.
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NANA REGIONAL CORPORATION, INC.
Box 49
Kotzebue, AK 99752
Phone: 442-3261
Corporate Staff
John Schaeffer, executive Director
James Regg, deputy director
Rachael Craig, administrative assistant
Willie Goodwin, Jr., director, division of lands
R. Robert Sam, director, finance & accounting
Board Officers
Robert Newlin, president
Vincent Schuerch, 1st vice-president
Grant Ballot, 2nd vice-president
Tommy Sheldon, Sr., secretary
Roland Booth, treasurer
Attorneys
Ely, Guess & Rudd, Anchorage
Wilson, Craig & Barker, Washington, D.C.
Consultants
Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. accountants
Robert M. Meith, land consultant, Fairfax, VA
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SEALASKA CORPORATION
127 South Franklin
Juneau, AK 99801
Phone: 586-1512
Corporate Staff
John Borbridge, president
George See, assistant to president
Roger Allington, land and engineering office
Richard Stitt, community assistance officer
Marge Gamble, office manager
Board Officers
John Borbridge, chairman of the board
George See, secretary
Attorneys
Weissbrodt & Weissbrodt, Washington, D.C.
Arnold & Porter, Washington, D.C.
Consultants
McGaughan & Johnson, engineering & planning,
Washington, D.C.
Wilsey & Ham, land consultants, San Francisco, CA
Ernst & Ernst, CPA's, accounting consultants
Chase Manhattan, financial consultants, New York
William A. Eastman & Associates, forestry
consultants
Bank of America, stockholders' services
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