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90-512: The Tanana Chiefs Conference is a non-profit organization with a membership of Native governments from 42 Interior Alaska communities. The Board of Directors is composed of 42 representatives selected by the village councils of member communities. The board meets each March in Fairbanks . The nine-member Executive Board is elected by the Board of Directors. The president of the Board of Directors

180-653: A ban on segregating signs, with discriminatory actions punishable by a $ 250 fine and up to 30 days in jail. Alaska became part of the United States in 1959 upon President Dwight D. Eisenhower recognizing Alaska as the 49th state. In 1971, with the support of Alaska Native leaders such as Emil Notti , Willie Hensley , and Byron Mallott , the U.S. Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which settled land and financial claims for lands and resources which

270-406: A child returned to his or her own native village, or located elsewhere, after completing education in a Federal Indian boarding school. Specifically this meant that Alaskan Native children could no longer speak their native language, wear traditional native clothing, be amongst other natives, eat native foods, practice any native religion, ultimately resulting in the intergenerational trauma caused by

360-456: A corporate structure. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of December 1971 set up 13 regional for-profit corporations for Alaska Natives - 12 in the state and one based in the Lower 48 for Alaska Natives living in the continental United States and nearly 200 village corporations. The act created the regional corporations for the management of land and financial assets, and overseeing

450-680: A form of taxation imposed by the Russians, was a tribute in the form of otter pelts. It was a taxation method the Russians had previously found useful in their early encounter with Indigenous communities of Siberia during the Siberian fur trade . Beaver pelts were also customary to be given to fur traders upon first contact with various communities. The Russian-American Company used military force on Indigenous families, taking them hostage until male community members produced furs for them. Otter furs on Kodiak Island and Aleutian Islands enticed

540-559: A great deal of political power in the 1920s. They protested the segregation of Alaska Natives in public areas and institutions, and also staged boycotts. Alberta Schenck (Inupiaq) staged a well-publicized protest against segregation in a movie theater in 1944. With the help of Elizabeth Peratrovich (Tlingit), the Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945 was passed, ending segregation in Alaska. In 1942, during World War II,

630-547: A harbor at Point Hope on the Northwest coast with nuclear blast - contributed substantially to the rise of the land claims movement. A remarkable array of young, educated Native leaders began pushing the land claims toward a suitable outcome. One of the first was Al Ketzler Sr., of Nenana. He helped organize a meeting of 32 villages at Tanana in June 1962, leading to the incorporation of The Tanana Chiefs Conference. Acting as

720-555: A new full-time President, Emil Notti. AFN went on to profoundly change the human rights and economic stability of the Alaska Native population. In 1967, Governor Walter Hickel summoned a group of Indigenous leaders and politicians to work out a settlement that would be satisfactory to Natives. The group met for ten days and asked for $ 20 million in exchange for requested lands. Among the other task force proposals were an outright grant of 1,000 acres per native village resident;

810-636: A region of 235,000 square miles (610,000 km) in Interior Alaska. TCC's movement into the modern era began with the advancement of non-Natives into the Interior. Tribal leaders strengthened their loose confederation to protect traditional rights. The first land dispute came in 1915 when the chiefs organized to protect a burial ground in Nenana from the Alaska Railroad . As a result,

900-414: A revenue-sharing program for state land claims and national mineral development projects; secured hunting and fishing rights on public lands; and a Native Commission to administrate state and federal compliance with the provisions of the claims settlement. They proposed receiving 10% of federal mineral lease revenue for ten years, once the freeze which had been placed on land patents to allow oil exploration

990-603: A school with American children if the family has abandoned their culture. At the same time, a system was put in place to disrupt Alaskan Native families. Federal records indicate that the United States viewed official disruption to the native family unit as part of Federal Indian policy to assimilate Indian children. The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, for example, was directly responsible for intergenerational trauma by disrupting family ties in Alaskan native villages. An important outcome of deliberate Federal disruption to

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1080-464: A statewide meeting inviting numerous leaders around Alaska to gather and create the first meeting of a committee. The historic meeting was held October 18, 1966 - on the 99th anniversary of the transfer of Alaska from Russia. Notti presided over the three-day conference as it discussed matters of land recommendations, claims committees, and political challenges the act would have in getting through congress. Many respected politicians and businessmen attended

1170-515: A tool of colonial exploitation of the indigenous people. When the Aleut revolted and won some victories, the Russians retaliated, killing many. They also destroyed the peoples' boats and hunting gear, leaving them no means of survival. The greatest mortality was caused by the Aleuts' encounters with new diseases: during the first two generations (1741/1759-1781/1799 AD) of Russian contact, 80 percent of

1260-728: Is elected by the full board and serves as the chief executive officer of the corporation. Programs funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs , the Department of Labor and the Alaska Native Health Services are available to tribal governments, and eligible Alaska Native and American Indians . Services financed by the state of Alaska are provided for all residents of the region. In 2006, The Tanana Chiefs Conference had almost seven hundred full-time employees and numerous part-time and seasonal positions. About two-thirds of

1350-551: The Indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Russian Creoles , Iñupiat , Yupik , Aleut , Eyak , Tlingit , Haida , Tsimshian , and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures. They are often defined by their language groups. Many Alaska Natives are enrolled in federally recognized Alaska Native tribal entities , who in turn belong to 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations , who administer land and financial claims. Ancestors of Native Alaskans or Alaska Natives migrated into

1440-591: The National Council on Indian Opportunity , headed by Vice President Spiro Agnew , which included eight Native leaders: Frank Belvin (Choctaw), Bergt (Iñupiat), Betty Mae Jumper (Seminole), Earl Old Person (Blackfeet), John C. Rainer (Taos Pueblo), Martin Seneca Jr. (Seneca), Harold Shunk (Yankton-Sioux), and Joseph C. "Lone Eagle" Vasquez (Apache-Sioux). During the state administration of Governor William A. Egan positions were staked out upon which

1530-748: The Tanana Chiefs Conference ; and Don Wright , president of the Alaska Federation of Natives a week later. That meeting held on March 12, marked a turning-point in negotiations with the various parties. The proposed settlement terms faced challenges in both houses but found a strong ally in Senator Henry M. Jackson from Washington state . The most controversial issues that continued to hold up approval were methods for determining land selection by Alaska Natives and financial distribution. With major petroleum dollars on

1620-794: The United States Supreme Court decision in Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government (1998). Except for the Tsimshian, Alaska Natives no longer hold reservations but do control some lands. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 , Alaska Natives are reserved the right to harvest whales and other marine mammals . Four indigenous tribes in Alaska, the Shishmaref , Kivalina , Shaktoolik and Newtok tribes, are being considered

1710-495: The 1850s Russia lost much of its interest in Alaska. Alaska has many natural resources, which, including its gold, caught the attention of the United States. In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. It did not consider the wishes of Native Alaskans or view them as citizens. The land that belonged to Alaska Natives was considered to be "open land", which could be claimed by white settlers without redress to

1800-562: The 21st century, the numerous congregations of Russian Orthodox Christians in Alaska reflect this early history, as they are generally composed mostly of Alaska Natives. Rather than hunting and harvesting marine life themselves, the Sibero-Russian promyshlenniki forced the Aleuts to do the work for them, enserfing the Aleuts. As word spread of the riches in furs to be had, competition among Russian companies increased. Catherine

1890-663: The AFN and other stakeholders could largely agree. Native leaders, in addition to Alaska's congressional delegation and the state's newly elected Governor Egan, eventually reached the basis for presenting an agreement to Congress. Bergt attended a March 1971 conference of the National Congress of American Indians in Kansas City, Missouri and was able to persuade Agnew there to meet with national officials, herself, Christiansen, an Alaska State Senator; Al Ketzler , chair of

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1980-493: The Alaska Area Native Health Service were established for Community Health Aide services, outreach services, environmental health, mental health and substance abuse services, and other programs in a gradual sequence. In the late 1970s, TCC successfully bid to receive a number of grants from the state of Alaska for delivery of health care, social services and public safety services to all residents of

2070-581: The Alaska Natives had lost to European-Americans . It provided for the establishment of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations to administer those claims. Similar to the separately defined status of the Canadian Inuit and First Nations in Canada, which are recognized as distinct peoples, in the United States, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans are in some respects treated separately by

2160-696: The Alaska Natives living there. The only schools for Alaska Natives were those founded by religious missionaries . Most white settlers did not understand the sophisticated cultures the Alaska Natives had developed to live in challenging environment and considered them to be inferior to European Americans, correlating with white supremacist beliefs. The Klondike Gold Rush occurred in the 1896–1898, increasing white presence in Alaska as well as discriminatory practices. Americans imposed racial segregation and discriminatory laws (similar to Jim Crow laws ) that limited Alaska Native opportunities and participation in culture, treating them as second-class citizens . With

2250-547: The Alaskan Native family unit was the removal of children from their native villages to off-reservation Indian boarding schools alongside other Indian tribes children. The Federal Government accordingly devised artificial communities of Indian children throughout the Federal Indian boarding school system, resulting in the creation of other Indian or Alaskan Native families and extended families depending on whether

2340-505: The Alaskan government recommended not building on permafrost or using extra layers of insulation that is used on foundation walls (EPA). Food insecurity has also created stress and health issues, families can not get enough food due to animals also relocating to get to a climate that is more suitable to them (Brubaker). Families also do not have a secure food system because their ways of storing food, underground ice cellar, are no longer frozen year long due to climate change, their cellars thaw in

2430-458: The Aleut population died from Eurasian infectious diseases . These had been endemic among the Europeans for centuries, but the Aleut had no immunity against the new diseases. The Russian Tsarist government expanded into Indigenous territory in present-day Alaska for its own geopolitical reasons. It consumed natural resources of the territory during the trading years, and Russian Orthodoxy

2520-818: The CAIHC Counseling Center, the new TCC Dental Clinic and Eye Clinic, and several remote-site alcohol recovery camps. Underlying all these programs are the commitments started by the Tanana Chiefs generations ago where the two rivers meet. The commitment translates into political advocacy for land rights and self-determination. It means working for a strong priority under law for the subsistence rights of rural Alaskans. And it includes support for local village governments that choose to enforce their own laws under their own authority. The Tanana Chiefs Conference region covers an area of 235,000 square miles (610,000 km), an area equal to about 37 percent of

2610-527: The Great , who became Empress in 1763, proclaimed good will toward the Aleut and urged her subjects to treat them fairly. The growing competition between the trading companies, which merged into fewer, larger and more powerful corporations, created conflicts that aggravated the relations with the indigenous populations . Over the years, the situation became catastrophic for the Aleuts, as well as other Native Alaskan people who were impacted by Russian contact. As

2700-498: The Indian Self Determination and Education Act of 1975 allowed it to become the responsible provider for dozens of programs in the region. Contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs were established to transfer the responsibility for management and delivery of services such as housing, lands management, tribal government assistance, education and employment and natural resources programs to TCC. Contracts with

2790-703: The Lower Kuskokwim area. In 1963, Ketzler flew to Washington, D.C. , to present a petition from 24 villages asking Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall to freeze state land selections until the Native land claims were settled. Ketzler left TCC from 1964 until 1969 to go back to Nenana, but other young leaders - Ralph Purdue, John Sackett and Tim Wallis - took over. In October 1966, TCC met in Anchorage with other Native leaders from around

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2880-575: The Native Alaskan groups were spread throughout Alaska. Arriving from Siberia by ship in the mid-eighteenth century, Russians began to trade with Alaska Natives in what became known as the Aleutian Islands . They started new settlements around trading posts, and Russian Orthodox missionaries were part of these. The Russian missionaries were the first persons to translate Christian scripture into Native languages, such as Tlingit . In

2970-477: The Russian American Company an edge in competition with American and British fur traders. But the conscription separated men from their families and villages, thus altering and breaking down communities. With able-bodied men away on the hunt, villages were left with little protection as only women, children, and the elderly remained behind. In addition to changes that came with conscription,

3060-482: The Russian American Company provided them with an education. Many Orthodox missionaries, like Herman of Alaska , defended Natives from exploitation. Creole people were believed to have high levels of loyalty toward the Russian crown and Russian American Company. After completing their education, children were often sent to Russia, where they would study skills such as mapmaking, theology, and military intelligence. In

3150-434: The Russians to start these taxations. Robbery and maltreatment in the form of corporal punishment and the withholding of food was also present upon the arrival of fur traders. Catherine the Great dissolved the giving of tribute in 1799, but her government initiated mandatory conscription of Indigenous men between the ages of 18 and 50 to become seal hunters strictly for the Russian American Company. This mandatory labor gave

3240-470: The Statehood Act that were subject to Native claims under section 4, and that were currently occupied and used by Alaska Natives. The federal Bureau of Land Management began to process the Alaska government's selections without taking into account the Native claims and without informing the affected Native groups. It was against this backdrop that the original language for a land claims settlement

3330-447: The United States forced evacuation of around nine hundred Aleuts from the Aleutian Islands . The idea was to remove the Aleuts from a potential combat zone during World War II for their own protection, but European Americans living in the same area were not forced to leave. The removal was handled so poorly that many Aleuts died after they were evacuated; the elderly and children had the highest mortality rates. Survivors returned to

3420-439: The amount of respiratory illnesses in many regions in Alaska, in 2005 pneumonia was the leading cause of hospitalizations (Brubaker). Many of the affected tribes are experiencing increased mental stress due to climate change and the problem of relocating but no policy or way to relocate (Brubaker). Stress has also increased on villages who face infrastructure damage due to melting permafrost, there are almost no regulations other than

3510-541: The animal populations declined, the Aleuts, already dependent on the new barter economy created by their fur trade with the Russians, were increasingly coerced into taking greater risks in the dangerous waters of the North Pacific to hunt for more otter. As the Shelikhov-Golikov Company and later Russian-American Company developed as a monopoly, it used skirmishes and systematic violence as

3600-474: The area thousands of years ago, in at least two different waves. Some are descendants of the third wave of migration, in which people settled across the northern part of North America. They never migrated to southern areas. Genetic studies show they are not closely related to native peoples in South America. Alaska Natives came from Asia. Anthropologists have stated that their journey from Asia to Alaska

3690-617: The beginning that a settlement could be achieved   .... My memories of the Congressional action as ANCSA took shape aren't of a battle as much as they are of long hours of tough, hard negotiating, often two steps forward and one step back   .... In 1971, barely one million acres of land in Alaska were in private hands. ANCSA, together with section 6 of Alaska Statehood Act , which the new act allowed to come to fruition, affected ownership to about 148.5 million acres (601,000 km ) of land in Alaska once wholly controlled by

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3780-746: The conference's first president, Ketzler contacted national Indian organizations and met with the Alaska Native Brotherhood , an organization formed in Sitka by Tlingits and Haidas of southeastern Alaska in the early part of the 20th century. He also met with the Barrow -based Inupiat Paitot, the forerunner of the Arctic Slope Native Association, and with the Association of Village Council Presidents in

3870-445: The contiguous United States, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans do not have treaties with the United States that protect their subsistence rights, except for the right to harvest whales and other marine mammals. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act explicitly extinguished aboriginal hunting and fishing rights in the state of Alaska. Census 2010. According to the 2010 census this was the ethnic breakdown of Alaska Natives by region,

3960-441: The corporations were managed properly, they could make profits that would enable individuals to stay, rather than having to leave Native villages to find better work. This was intended to help preserve Native culture. Alaska Natives had three years from passage of ANCSA to make land selections of the 44 million acres (180,000 km ) granted under the act. In some cases Native corporations received outside aid in surveying

4050-405: The development of natural resources. Village corporations, representing individual Native communities, have their own natural and financial resources to maintain. TCC incorporated Doyon Limited as the regional for-profit corporation for the specific purpose of making a profit for their stockholders. The act left a place for non-profit corporations to administer health and social service programs for

4140-576: The disputed lands. Offers went back and forth, with each rejecting the other's proposals. The AFN wanted rights to land, while then-Governor Keith Miller believed Natives did not have legitimate claims to state land in light of the provisions of the Alaska Statehood Act . On July 8, 1970, Nixon delivered a speech reversing the Indian termination policy in favor of allowing tribal self-determination . The following month, he established

4230-533: The eighteenth century. British and American traders, coming mostly from eastern settlements in North America, generally did not reach the area until the nineteenth century. In some cases, Christian missionaries were not active in Alaska until the twentieth century. Vitus Bering spotted Alaska during an expedition. Native Alaskans first came into contact with Russians in the 18th century. Time of contact with Russians varied throughout each native group since

4320-582: The family separation and cultural eradication. In 1912, the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) was formed to help fight for citizenship rights. The Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) was created in 1915. Also in 1915, the Alaska Territorial legislature passed a law allowing Alaskan Natives the right to vote – but on the condition that they give up their cultural customs and traditions. The Indian Citizenship Act , passed in 1924, gave all Native Americans United States citizenship. ANB began to hold

4410-566: The federal government. That is larger by 6 million acres (24,000 km ) than the combined areas of Maine , Vermont , New Hampshire , Massachusetts , Rhode Island , Connecticut , New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Delaware , Maryland and Virginia . When the bill passed in 1971, it included provisions that had never before been attempted in previous United States settlements with Native Americans. The newly passed Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act created twelve Native regional economic development corporations. Each corporation

4500-556: The fight, would later remark: ANCSA was my baptism of fire as a Senator from Alaska   .... It didn't occur to me that some Senators had the opportunity to ease into their jobs. Life in the Senate for me was fast-paced from the beginning   .... With my experience working in the Department of the Interior and with the Statehood Act, and my faith in the determination and unity of purpose of Alaska's Native people, I believed from

4590-610: The first climate refugees for America, due to sea ice melting and increased wildfires in the regions (Bronen and Brubaker). The effects of climate change on the people of Alaska are extensive and include issues such as increased vulnerability to disease, mental health issues, injury, food insecurity, and water insecurity (Brubaker). According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the loss of sea ice will increase erosion area and further displace more native communities. The melting sea ice will also affect

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4680-442: The government from other Native Americans in the United States . This is in part related to their interactions with the U.S. government which occurred in a different historical period than its interactions during the period of westward expansion during the 19th century. Europeans and Americans did not have sustained encounters with the Alaska Natives until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when many were attracted to

4770-444: The hearings were officials and legislators, as well as Laura Bergt , Roger Connor, Thoda Forslund, Cliff Groh, Barry Jackson, Flore Lekanof, Notti, and Morris Thompson. In 1969, President Nixon appointed Hickel as Secretary of the Interior . The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) protested against Hickel's nomination, but he was eventually confirmed. He worked with the AFN, negotiating with Native leaders and state government over

4860-409: The imposition of discriminatory laws, segregation amongst Alaskan Natives and Americans occurred; for example, " whites only " signs excluded natives from entering buildings. There were also segregated schools. An 1880 court case describes a child not allowed to attend a school with Americans because his stepfather was native. A child that was part native and part American would only be allowed to attend

4950-461: The interior. In 1980, TCC moved to decentralize the operations of its programs away from Fairbanks , through the establishment of subregional offices in Fairbanks, Fort Yukon , Galena , Holy Cross , McGrath and Tok . During the 1980s, this process allowed for more local employment, attention to subregional program priorities, and better access by TCC clients to information and services. In

5040-481: The islands to find their homes and possessions destroyed or looted. Civil rights activists such as Alberta Schenck Adams and Elizabeth Peratrovich protested discriminatory laws against Native Alaskans with what were effectively sit-ins and lobbying. The Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945 , the first anti-discrimination state law in the U.S., occurred as a result of these protests. It entitled all Alaskans to "full and equal enjoyment" of public areas and businesses,

5130-614: The land claims it has made under ANCSA. The state is entitled to a total of 104.5 million acres (423,000 km ) under the terms of the Statehood Act. Originally the state had 25 years after passage of the Alaska Statehood Act to file claims under section 6 of the act with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Amendments to ANCSA extended that deadline until 1994, with the expectation that BLM would complete processing of land transfers subject to overlapping Native claims by 2009. Nonetheless, some Native and state selections under ANCSA remained unresolved as late as December 2014. There

5220-952: The land. For instance, Doyon, Limited (one of the 13 regional corporations ) was helped by the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska . The Institute determined which land contained resources such as minerals and coal. NASA similarly provided satellite imagery to aid in Native corporations finding areas most suited for vegetation and their traditional subsistence culture. The imagery showed locations of caribou and moose, as well as forests with marketable timber. In total about 7 million acres (28,000 km ) were analyzed for Doyon. Natives were able to choose tens of thousands of acres of land rich with timber while Doyon used mineral analysis to attract businesses. The state of Alaska to date has been granted approximately 85% or 90 million acres (360,000 km ) of

5310-439: The largest land claims settlement in United States history . ANCSA was intended to resolve long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in Alaska, as well as to stimulate economic development throughout Alaska . The settlement established Alaska Native claims to the land by transferring titles to twelve Alaska Native regional corporations and over 200 local village corporations. A thirteenth regional corporation

5400-428: The law, often recognizing existing leadership. Alaskan officials were originally divided on the bill, though by 1970, with Interior Secretary Walter Hickel , Governor William Egan , Representative Nick Begich & Senators Ted Stevens & Mike Gravel all backing the bill, the opposition died down. Stevens was particularly strongminded, and was key in the bill's passage. Stevens, a freshman Senator for most of

5490-597: The line, pressure mounted to achieve a definitive legislative resolution at the federal level. In 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was signed into law by President Nixon. It abrogated Native claims to aboriginal lands except those that are the subject of the law. In return, Natives retained up to 44 million acres (180,000 km ) of land and were paid $ 963 million. The land and money were to be divided among regional, urban, and village tribal corporations established under

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5580-466: The majority of Alaska Natives live in small villages or remote regional hubs such as Nome , Dillingham , and Bethel , the percentage who live in urban areas has been increasing. In 2010, 44% lived in urban areas, compared to 38% in the 2000 census. As of 2018, natives constitute 15.4% of the overall Alaskan population. The modern history of Alaska Natives begins with the first contact between Alaskan First Nations and Russians sailing from Siberia in

5670-409: The meeting and delegates were astonished at the attention which they received from well-known political figures of the state. The growing presence and political importance of Natives was evidenced when members were able to gain election to seven of the sixty seats in the legislature. When the group met a second time early in 1967, it emerged with a new name, The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), and

5760-650: The mid-1980s, under the leadership of President William C. "Spud" Williams, TCC successfully assumed management of the Alaska Native Health Center in Fairbanks (renamed the Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center after the late Traditional Athabascan Chiefs from Dot Lake ) and the contract health care program. In the late 1980s, other new facilities and services were developed, including the Paul Williams House,

5850-416: The migration of some animals that the tribes rely on and with the ice melting there will be no place to store the food that they do obtain (EPA). Due to the permafrost melting, the infrastructure that has been around in the past will become unstable and native villages will collapse (EPA). The Shishmaref, Kivalina, Shaktoolik and Newtok tribes are located on the west coast of Alaska and due to sea-level rise

5940-530: The oil would be loaded onto tankers and shipped to the contiguous states. The plan had been approved, but a permit to construct the pipeline, which would cross lands involved in the land claims dispute, could not be granted until the Native claims were settled. Hearings were held for the first time before the United States House 's Subcommittee on Indian Affairs in July 1968. Among those who attended

6030-479: The people. The Tanana Chiefs Conference became the non-profit corporation for the TCC region. With the land claims settlement, a major goal had been accomplished. But other pressing needs remained. Under the leadership of Mitch Demientieff, a 20-year-old University of Alaska student when elected TCC president in 1973, TCC developed a regional health authority for tribal health programs. The organization acted quickly when

6120-570: The population of Alaska. Below is a full list of the different Alaska Native or Native Alaskan peoples, who are largely defined by their historical languages (within each culture are different tribes): The Alaska Natives Commission estimated there were about 86,000 Alaska Natives living in Alaska in 1990, with another 17,000 who lived outside Alaska. A 2013 study by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development documented more than 120,000 Alaska Native people in Alaska. While

6210-445: The provisions of the act were not voted on by indigenous populations. One native described it as a social and political experiment. Critics have also argued that Natives so feared massacre or incarceration that they offered no resistance to the act. Others have argued that the settlement was arguably the most generous afforded by the United States to a Native group. They note that some of the largest and most profitable corporations in

6300-590: The railroad avoided the cemetery. Conflicts became an increasing problem; the threat of loss of Native land grew after statehood in 1959. The Alaska Statehood Act recognized Native land rights, yet the state administration began planning as though it did not. It had two plans that were of particular concern. One was to build a road to the Minto Lakes area northwest of Fairbanks and the Rampart Dam project. That project and another ill-conceived idea - creating

6390-598: The region in gold rushes. The Alaska Natives were not allotted individual title in severalty to land under the Dawes Act of 1887 but were instead treated under the Alaska Native Allotment Act of 1906. The Allotment Act was repealed in 1971, following ANSCA, at which time reservations were ended. Another characteristic difference is that Alaska Native tribal governments do not have the power to collect taxes for business transacted on tribal land, per

6480-457: The risk of injury, usually there are thick layers of ice all year long but due to increasing temperatures in the atmosphere and the sea the ice is becoming thinner and is increasing the number of people who fall through the ice, if a person survives falling through the ice they are faced with other health concerns (Brubaker). Increased water insecurity and failing infrastructure caused by climate change has created sanitation issues which has increased

6570-681: The spread of disease also altered the populations of Indigenous communities. Although records kept in the period were scarce, it has been said that 80% of the pre-contact population of the Aleut people were gone by 1800. Relationships between Indigenous women and fur traders increased as Indigenous men were away from villages. This resulted in marriages and children that would come to be known as Creole peoples , children who were Indigenous and Russian. To reduce hostilities with Aleutian communities, it became policy for fur traders to enter into marriage with Indigenous women. The Creole population increased in

6660-479: The staff members work in village positions, with two-thirds of the staff members also being Alaskan Natives. The history of the Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) reflects the importance of balancing the traditional Native values with the modern demands facing us as indigenous peoples. TCC works toward meeting the health and social service challenges for more than 10,000 Alaska Natives spread across

6750-1050: The state are the twelve created by ANCSA. Other critics attacked the act as "Native welfare" and such complaints continue to be expressed. The corporation system has been critiqued, as in some cases stockholders have sold land to outside corporations that have leveled forests and extracted minerals. But supporters of the system argue that it has provided economic benefits for indigenous peoples that outweigh these problems. The following thirteen regional corporations were created under ANCSA: Additionally, most regions and some villages have created their own nonprofits providing social services and health care through grant funding and federal compacts. The objectives of these nonprofits are varied, but focus generally on cultural and educational activities. These include scholarships for Native students, sponsorship of cultural and artistic events, preservation efforts for Native languages, and protection of sites with historic or religious importance. ANCSA created about 224 village and urban corporations. Below

6840-407: The state government to claim lands deemed vacant. Section 6 granted the state of Alaska the right to select lands then in the hands of the federal government, with the exception of Native territory. As a result, nearly 104.5 million acres (423,000 km ) from the public domain would eventually be transferred to the state. The state government also attempted to acquire lands under section 6 of

6930-496: The state of Alaska, and just slightly smaller than the state of Texas . The total population of the region is 86,130, of which 10,623 are Natives. About one-half of the entire Native population resides in Fairbanks, which is the only urban area in the region. (Ordered roughly from east to west) Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Indians , Alaskan Natives , Native Alaskans , Indigenous Alaskans , Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans ) are

7020-611: The state, including the active and vocal delegations from ANB and ASNA, and formed the Alaska Federation of Natives . In 1968, Alaska Natives were ready when oil was discovered on the North Slope . The first land settlement bill had been introduced in the United States Congress , and claims had been registered for most of the land in question. Secretary Udall, acting on Ketzler's petition, had frozen

7110-496: The status of land titles in the absence of a Native land claims settlement in late 1966. The land freeze sharpened the interest of the state and the oil companies to settle the land disputes. After a historic struggle in which Ketzler and dozens of other Alaska Natives lived in Washington, D.C., for weeks, Congress authorized a settlement of more than 40 million acres (160,000 km) and nearly $ 1 billion to Alaska Natives through

7200-546: The summers leaving their food supply inedible. Gathering of subsistence food continues to be an important economic and cultural activity for many Alaska Natives. In Utqiaġvik, Alaska , in 2005, more than 91 percent of the Iñupiat households which were interviewed still participated in the local subsistence economy, compared with the approximately 33 percent of non-Iñupiat households who used wild resources obtained from hunting, fishing, or gathering. But, unlike many tribes in

7290-597: The territory controlled by the Russian American Company. The growth of the Russian Orthodox Church was another important tactic in the colonization and conversion of Indigenous populations. Ioann Veniaminov, who later became Saint Innocent of Alaska , was an important missionary who carried out the Orthodox Church's agenda to Christianize Indigenous populations. The church encouraged Creole children to follow Russian Orthodox Christianity, while

7380-399: The total is 100% for each region: [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] Oceania [REDACTED] South America Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( ANCSA ) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting what is still

7470-428: The villages are experiencing more severe storm surges that are eroding their coastlines (Bronen). There is no land for these tribes to move to that are already in the area they live in which forces these communities to migrate and change their whole way of living (Bronen). It is predicted that a climate event will submerge the tribes completely in less than fifteen years (Bronen). Extreme weather conditions has increased

7560-506: Was associated with a specific region of Alaska and the Natives who had traditionally lived there. This innovative approach to native settlements engaged the tribes in corporate capitalism. The idea originated with the AFN, who believed that the Natives would have to become a part of the capitalist system in order to survive. As stockholders in these corporations, the Natives could earn some income and stay in their traditional villages. If

7650-417: Was developed. A 9.2-magnitude earthquake struck the state in 1964. Recovery efforts drew the attention of the federal government. The Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska decided that Natives should receive $ 100 million and 10% of revenue as a royalty. Nothing was done with this proposal, however, and a freeze on land transfers remained in effect. In 1966, Emil Notti called for

7740-495: Was evangelized. Their movement into these populated areas of Indigenous communities altered the demographic and natural landscape. Historians have suggested that the Russian-American Company exploited Indigenous peoples as a source of inexpensive labor. The Russian-American Company not only used Indigenous populations for labor during the fur trade, but also held some as hostages to acquire iasak . Iasak,

7830-464: Was largely positive reaction to ANCSA, although not entirely. The act was supported by Natives as well as non-Natives, and likewise enjoyed bipartisan support. Natives were heavily involved in the legislative process, and the final draft of the act used many AFN ideas. Some Natives have argued that ANCSA has hastened cultural genocide of Alaska Natives. Some Natives critiqued ANCSA as an illegitimate treaty since only tribal leaders were involved and

7920-539: Was later created for Alaska Natives who no longer resided in Alaska . The act is codified in chapter 33 of title 43 of the US Code . When Alaska became a state in 1959, section 4 of the Alaska Statehood Act provided that any existing Alaska Native land claims would be unaffected by statehood and held in status quo. Yet while section 4 of the act preserved Native land claims until later settlement, section 6 allowed for

8010-542: Was lifted. In 1968, the Atlantic-Richfield Company discovered oil at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast, catapulting the issue of land ownership into headlines. In order to lessen the difficulty of drilling at such a remote location and transporting the oil to the lower 48 states , the oil companies proposed building a pipeline to carry the oil across Alaska to the port of Valdez . At Valdez,

8100-627: Was made possible through the Bering land bridge or by traveling across the sea. Throughout the Arctic and the circumpolar north, the ancestors of Alaska Natives established varying indigenous , complex cultures that have succeeded each other over time. They developed sophisticated ways to deal with the challenging climate and environment. Historical groups have been defined by their languages, which belong to several major language families. Today, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans constitute more than 20% of

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