GREETINGS!
AFN/NCAI TRIBAL
CONFERENCE
TRIBE / CORPORATIONS
COOPERATION
TRIBAL RECOGNITION
Federal recognition acknowledges
tribal sovereignty
Creates a government-to-government
relationship with the federal government
HISTORY OF FEDERAL RECOGNITION
OF TRIBES
• Manifest Destiny – Indian Wars
– Treaties
• Federal relationship with tribes unclear
• Reservation era
– On-reservation / Off-reservation
• Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)
• Recognition by Congress
• Indian land dispute settlements
Tribe / Corporation
Interrelationships
• Most Alaska Natives celebrated ANCSA
– Largest Native land settlement in history
• Most IRA tribes at the time of ANCSA
becoming law were either dormant or focused
on other business
Indian Self-Determination
Act
• PL 93-638 Revitalized IRA Tribes (1975)
• Required the BIA to enter into grants and
contracts with tribes who wanted to manage
their own programs
• The first definition of tribe in this Act
recognized ANCSA corporations
• 638 dramatically strengthened the voice of
tribes and tribal leadership
Order of Precedence
The Department of the Interior adopted this
“Order of Precedence” for BIA contracting
eligibility in Alaska:
•
•
•
•
IRA Tribe
Traditional Tribe
Village ANCSA Corporation
Regional ANCSA Corporation
Alaska Tribes in
Federal Register
• Assistant Secretary, Ada Deer, in 1993,
included Alaska tribes in Federal Register list
• Alaska tribes have the same relationship with
the federal government as tribes in the Lower48
• ANCSA Corporations were not on that list
• Tlingit Haida Central Council was not on list
– Congress reinstated Tlingit Haida Central Council
back onto the list in 1994
CONFLICT BETWEEN TRIBES
AND ANCSA CORPORATIONS
INCREASED DISAGREEMENTS
THIS PAST DECADE
• ANCSAs incorporated under state law
• Some say:
– ANCSA a failure & termination legislation
• Alienated Natives born after 1971
– Land should have gone to tribes
– Terminated aboriginal subsistence rights
– Are not supportive of tribal and community issues
and concerns
– Corporations recognized as tribes is harmful
DISAGREEMENTS (CONT.)
• Some ANCSAs say:
– Tribes undermine corporate effectiveness through
public forums with negative statements
– Tribes do not fully utilize consultation rights to
the best interest of corporations
– Tribal leadership not willing to work productively
with corporations
– They should have government consultation on
their issues the same as tribes
COMMENTS ON DISAGREEMENTS
• ANCSA did not terminate tribes in Alaska
• Corporations have the right to include those
born after 1971
• Land going to state chartered corporations
may not be what we want, but it is reality
• The termination of subsistence rights is a
huge problem that we must address soon
• Most corporations are community oriented
COMMENTS (CONT.)
• Full federal recognition of ANCSA
Corporations as tribes would dramatically
weaken arguments of tribal sovereignty
– Trust relationship is only with aboriginal people
– Corps incorporated under state law
– Non-Native can own ANCSA stock
– Create unnecessary and unfair competition for
BIA and other contracts
COMMENTS (CONT.)
• It is important to note that even with federal
laws including IRA and traditional tribes on
the list of federally recognized tribes, the
Alaska State Legislature and anti-Native
attorneys constantly challenge tribal
sovereignty in Alaska
COMMENTS (CONT.)
• Federal consultation with corporations should
not be termed as “government-to-government
consultation” or even “tribal consultation”
– There are federal policies that impact ANCSA
corporations
– The federal government consults with states and
other businesses impacted by federal policies
COMMENTS (CONT.)
• Federal consultation not a panacea
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Indirect costs
Land into trust in Alaska
BIA budgets
BIA administration growth at our expense
Inequitable representation on national boards
Fix subsistence
PL 477
Roads programs – inventory, formula
Consultation policies
CHALLENGES FACING OUR
PEOPLE
WE MUST BE MORE EFFECTIVE
IN ADDRESSING CHALLENGES
• High cost of living
– Energy costs
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•
•
•
•
Weak rural economies
Reapportionment – diminished voice
Federal budget cuts
State control over subsistence
Constant attacks on 8(a) contracting
ADDRESSING CHALLENGES
(CONT.)
• Insufficient access to justice in rural
Alaska
• High Native dropout rates
• Highest suicide rates in the country
• Homelessness
• Substance abuse
• Insufficient infrastructure in rural
Alaska
WE MUST FIND COMMON GROUND
TO IMPROVE OUR JOINT
EFFECTIVENESS IN ADDRESSING
THE NEEDS OF OUR PEOPLE!
These are our people!
VALUABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE
NEVER EASY!
Agree to disagree on issues we cannot
agree on; get over it and move on
together!
ANCSA corporations are not enemies of
tribes; tribes are not enemies of
corporations!
We are the same people!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
KIND ATTENTION!
Gunalchéesh!
How’aa!