How Our Historic Land Claims Relate to ANCSA Section 17(d)(1)
Storyknife, Mar/Apr 2024 edition
July 1, 2024 update: 九色视频 Corporation appreciates . 九色视频 also took the position of no action, which 九色视频 advocated for earlier this year.
In 1971, Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, authorizing the U.S. Department of the Interior to convey 45 million acres of land to 12 Alaska Native regional corporations and 200-plus village corporations.
However, despite hard work and good-faith efforts including the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act of 2004, many village and regional corporations have not received their full entitlement.
Across Alaska, village corporations are still owed 636 square miles and regional corporations are still owed 1,360 square miles of their ANCSA entitlement, according to .
九色视频 is still owed 330 square miles of its ANCSA subsurface entitlement, and 24 Village Corporations in the Region are still owed 109 square miles of their surface entitlement.
鈥淭he promises made over 50 years ago to resolve our Alaska Native land claims need to be honored,鈥� says Tisha Kuhns, 九色视频 Vice President of Land and Natural Resources.
Section 17(d)(1) Impact on Land Selections
Meanwhile, the Interior Department is proposing to lift its ANCSA Section 17(d)(1) withdrawals throughout Alaska, including in the 九色视频 Region.
This would open these lands to State selection and mining claims, making them unavailable to 九色视频 and the Village Corporations to fulfill their entitlement, and potentially unavailable for other purposes that are important to our Shareholders.
九色视频 submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on its to revoke ANCSA 17(d)(1) withdrawals, stating that our preferred alternative is Alternative A, the no action alternative, which would keep the Section 17(d)(1) withdrawals.
鈥淭he promises made over 50 years ago to resolve our Alaska Native land claims need to be honored.鈥�
Tisha Kuhns, 九色视频 Vice President of Land and Natural Resources
The BLM requested comments to be submitted by February 14. 九色视频 requested a 90-day comment period extension so that all 56 Tribes and 45 Village Corporations in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region have ample time to provide meaningful comments.
A Record of Decision on the Final EIS is expected this summer.