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When Alaska became a state in 1959, not all of the Natives were fully informed of the consequences of the act that provided for its annexation. While section 4 of the act preserved Native lands, section 6 allowed for the state government to claim lands deemed vacant. Many lands soon became contested. Natives reserved their right to tribal lands, while other Alaskans desired certain areas for industry, such as minerals, oil, and salmon. The latter citizens were concerned that Natives would destroy the economic potential of the new state. It was against this backdrop that the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA) was passed. In 1968, then governor Walter Hickel summoned a group of Native leaders to create a settlement that would be pleasing to the Natives. The group met for ten days, and included at least twelve recognized leaders, and asked for $20 million in exchange for requested lands. They also asked for 10% of federal mineral lease revenue.

A 9.2 earthquake then struck the state, drawing the attention the federal government which found that found Native Alaskans to have the lowest living conditions in the country. The Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska decided that the Natives should receive $100 million and the 10% revenue royalty. Nothing was done with this proposal, however. President Nixon appointed Hickel as Secretary of the Interior. The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) protested against Hickel’s confirmation, but he was eventually confirmed.

Hickel worked with the AFN, negotiating between them and state government over the disputed lands. Offers went back and forth, with each rejecting the other’s proposals. The AFN wanted rights to land, while Governor Keith Miller thought the state should pay nothing and that the Natives did not have legitimate claims to state land. The final bill was written in 1971, and was challenged in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives. It was help by a new Alaskan state administration that was able to create a position that the state’s representatives to Congress could agree upon. The state’s newly elected Senator, sole Congressmen, and governor finally reached an agreement, in addition to the leaders of the Natives. Most controversial issues that held up the process were methods of land selection and financial distribution.

Significance and Effects
When the bill passed in 1971, it included provisions that had never been attempted in United States settlements with Native Americans. The newly passed Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act created twelve Native regional economic development corporations. Each corporation was associated with a specific region of Alaska, and the Natives who had traditionally lived there. This was a very innovative approach to native settlements, seeing as it entered them into capitalism. It was the idea of the AFN though, who felt that the Natives would have to be a part of the capitalist system in order to stay afloat. The Natives would be stockholders in these corporations, and therefore had the power to stay in their villages. If the corporations were managed properly, they could make profits that would prevent individuals from leaving their Native villages to find more profitable work. This would hopefully help preserve Native culture.

To grant stock to Natives, the act had to define what constituted a “Native.” It granted stock to anyone with 1/4 or more Indian blood. They would receive put to one hundred shares of stock. More than 208 villages were respected in the act, comprised of 227 different tribes. ANSCA gave $962.5 million dollars to Native Alaskans. Half went directly to the villages, while the other half went to fund the twelve corporations. About 100,000 Natives were affected by the legislation. About 99 million acres of public land were allocated for Natives to choose from, 40 million of which they could claim for themselves. The twelve regional corporations received mineral rights for 22 million acres of land, as well as surface and sub-surface titles to 16 million more acres. This accounted for 38 million of the 40 million acres, and the last 2 million were to become holy sites, burial grounds, historic sites, etc.

Native Land Selection
Natives had just a few years to sort through these millions of acres of land and make decisions. In some cases corporations received outside aid in surveying the land. For instance, Doyon Limited (a Native corporation) was helped by the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska. The Institute helped in determining which land was would be most rich with resources such as minerals and coal. NASA also provided satellite imagery to aid in finding areas most suited for vegetation and subsistence. The imagery also showed locations of caribou and moose, and forest with timber conducive to the market. In total about 7 million acres were analyzed for Doyon Limited. They were able to choose tens of thousands of acres of land with rich timber, and Doyon was able to use the mineral analysis to attract businesses.

Amendments
The original version of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act did not include provisions for education. This was brought to the attention of Alaskan representatives, who called for amendments. The state agreed to create secondary school in any village with at least fifteen high school-aged children.

Criticism of ANSCA
There was largely positive reception to ANSCA, although not entirely. The act was approved by Natives as well as non-Natives, and was praised for such bipartisan support. Natives were heavily involved in the legislative process, and the final draft of the act used many AFN ideas. Most criticism of ANSCA came from Natives, who in some cases argued that it hastened a cultural genocide. Some Natives critiqued ANSCA as an illegitimate treaty since it dealt with tribal leaders and was not voted on by the indigenous populations. One native even described it as a social and political experiment. Critics have also argued that Natives feared massacre or incarceration and only complied with the negotiations as such. Others have argued that the settlement was arguably the most generous afforded by the United States to a Native group, and point out that some of the largest and most profitable corporations in the state are of the twelve created in ANSCA. The corporation system has been critiqued, as majorities of stockholders have sold land to outside corporations who have leveled forests and extracted minerals. But supporters of the system argue that it has provided economic benefits for the indigenous peoples that outweigh these consequences.