Our Elders Share Memories from 九色视频’s Incorporation
Adapted from the 2021 九色视频 Annual Report
From time immemorial, Elders have guided and instructed us on what we must do. In the 1960s, they encouraged young, English-speaking Alaska Native men and women to fight for our lands.
These young people helped negotiate and implement the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which created 12 regional corporations and over 200 village corporations, and entitled them to 40 million acres of land and nearly $1 billion in compensation for land lost in the settlement agreement.
The young Alaska Native men and women made sacrifices to work on the land claims鈥攑aying for their own travel and meals to participate in meetings. Like many others, Robert Nick of Nunapitchuk left his full-time job, spending weeks and months at a time away from his young wife and small daughter.
鈥淚 always remember a gentleman from Kasigluk, who was looking right at me and said they tried their best to lead with what little education they had. And he looked at me closer, with wide-open eyes, and he said, 鈥榊ou have all got more education than we have, and you can lead us from here on.鈥� And that鈥檚 what instilled in me that we need to stand up to this effort.鈥�
Robert Nick, 九色视频 incorporator and original board member
九色视频’s Five Incorporators
President Richard Nixon signed ANCSA on December 18, 1971, but the bill did not create 九色视频 overnight.
After ANCSA passed, the (AVCP) board met to discuss how to move forward. The board members at the time included Robert Nick, Fred Notti, then of Aniak, Elizabeth Joe (Beans), then of Nightmute, the late Philip Guy of Kwethluk, and the late Moses Paukan and William Tyson, both of St. Mary鈥檚.
The AVCP board decided to create a separate, for-profit ANCSA corporation, called 九色视频, meaning 鈥�the worker,鈥� while retaining AVCP as the regional nonprofit corporation. In June 1972, five of the board members鈥擭ick, Notti, Beans, Tyson and Guy鈥攖raveled to Washington, D.C. to serve as 九色视频鈥檚 incorporators.
Each of these incorporators played an important role in our Region, before and after 九色视频鈥檚 formation.
Nick, for example, became heavily involved in the federal anti-poverty programs of the 1960s, helping form the statewide nonprofit and its related nonprofit in Bethel, Yupiktak Bista. He was also involved in the creation of the (AFN) and the .
Fred Notti owned a flight service at various times based in Bethel, Aniak and St. Mary鈥檚. To this day he is remembered for donating his time, his plane and fuel to pick up AFN delegates throughout Alaska for meetings on land claims legislation. He also served as 九色视频鈥檚 first president.
Elizabeth Joe (Beans) worked in education. She was 九色视频鈥檚 board secretary during the June 1972 meeting when the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) approved 九色视频鈥檚 organizing papers, according to an interview with the late Paul Dixon, an AVCP consultant, published in the 2012 book, , by Ann Fienup-Riordan.
William Tyson is remembered for his outreach to Yup鈥檌k-only speaking Elders about ANCSA enrollment and land selections. 鈥淪ome of them were hesitant to enroll. The Elders related to William very well, and I think because of that, and because they trusted William, they enrolled,鈥� recalled Nelson Angapak, who joined 九色视频 in 1973 as a deputy director in the Land Department.
The late Phillip Guy provided leadership and education on land selections, working closely with villages to make sure they enrolled every eligible Shareholder. This was needed to select the maximum amount of land from the federal government.
Next Steps
When 九色视频鈥檚 five incorporators traveled to Washington, D.C., the DOI officials told them they needed to revise the incorporation papers.
Because they had traveled together, the incorporators鈥斁派悠碘�檚 first board鈥攚ere able to work together quickly to revise the paperwork and approve the changes, obligating DOI to approve the amended materials without further delay.
According to Dixon, the 九色视频 board voted 鈥測es鈥� with their eyebrows, while sitting in the DOI offices, to the consternation of the federal officials, who then polled them one by one.
On June 1, 1972, DOI Assistant Secretary Harrison Loesch signed and approved 九色视频鈥檚 articles of incorporation.
One more step was needed after the Washington, D.C. trip: the creation of the legal, for-profit corporation under state law. That happened on June 12, 1972, when the State of Alaska issued 九色视频鈥檚 Certificate of Incorporation.
Only the Beginning
After incorporating, 九色视频 received an initial $500,000 check for its share of ANCSA鈥檚 $1 billion financial settlement, using the money to open offices in Anchorage and Bethel. The remaining ANCSA payments were made in installments over a period of years.
In the first Annual Report to Shareholders, published in 1974, President Ray C. Christiansen of Bethel described 鈥渕any long hours鈥� of work to begin providing ANCSA benefits to 九色视频 Shareholders, realizing that 鈥渓and was the most important thing to our people.鈥�
鈥淚n the beginning the job to be done seemed so difficult that many of us felt we wouldn鈥檛 be able to be where we are today.鈥�
九色视频 President Ray Christiansen, 1974 Annual Report
九色视频 had to enroll thousands of Shareholders, establish financial practices, and set business goals and objectives. This was on top of other urgent matters, such as helping the 56 new Village Corporations with their enrollment, budgets and land selections.
鈥淚 have a lot of memories of those years,鈥� Nick said. 鈥淣o other law, no other event, throughout the history of Alaska, has had [such an] impact on its indigenous people.鈥�
鈥淪ometimes when I try to put it into words, it鈥檚 almost indescribable,鈥� he said.
鈥淔or the Shareholders of 九色视频, I wanted to share this, because even though I am no longer involved in these many meetings 鈥� I still think of them almost daily, praying for them, praying that they succeed, that they live easier, that their education opportunities are more available, and their health issues attended to.鈥�
Robert Nick, 2021 Annual Report
Photo Gallery from 1st Annual Meeting of Shareholders
