[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA NATIVE LAND ENTITLEMENT FINALIZATION 
                                  ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 18, 2007

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I, along with my distinguished 
colleagues, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Abercrombie and Mr. 
Faleomavaega, introduce today the Southeast Alaska Native Land 
Entitlement Finalization Act. This legislation will redress the 
inequitable treatment of the Native Regional Corporation for Southeast 
Alaska--Sealaska Corporation--by allowing it to select its remaining 
land entitlement under Section 14 of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act, ANCSA, from designated Federal land in Southeast 
Alaska.
  Congress enacted ANCSA in 1971 to recognize and settle the aboriginal 
claims of Alaska Natives to the lands that Alaska Natives had used 
since time immemorial for traditional, cultural, and spiritual 
purposes. ANCSA allocated 44 million acres and nearly $1 billion to 
Alaska's Native people, to be managed by the 12 Regional Corporations, 
including Sealaska, and more than 200 Village Corporations. While 
Sealaska is one of the Regional Corporations with the largest number of 
Native shareholders, with 21 percent of all original Native 
shareholders, Sealaska received the smallest Regional Corporation land 
settlement--less than 1 percent of the total of all ANCSA lands.
  ANCSA declared that the land settlement ``should be accomplished 
rapidly, with certainty [and] in conformity with the real economic and 
social needs of [Alaska] Natives . . .'' However, after more than 35 
years since the passage of ANSCA, Sealaska has still not received 
conveyance of its full land entitlement. As a result of its small land 
entitlement, it is critical that Sealaska complete its remaining land 
entitlement under ANCSA in order to continue to meet the economic, 
social and cultural needs of its Native shareholders, and of the Native 
community throughout 
Alaska.
  The Bureau of Land Management projects that Sealaska is entitled to 
receive between 355,000 and 375,000 acres pursuant to ANCSA. To date, 
35+ years after ANCSA's enactment, Sealaska has secured conveyance of 
290,000 acres. Accordingly, there are up to 85,000 acres remaining to 
be conveyed. ANCSA, however, limits Sealaska land selections to 
withdrawal areas surrounding certain Native villages in Southeast 
Alaska. The problem is that there are no lands remaining in these 
withdrawal areas that meet Sealaska's traditional, cultural, historic, 
or socioeconomic needs, and certain of those lands should more 
appropriately remain in public ownership. The selection limitations 
preclude Sealaska from to using any of its remaining ANCSA land 
settlement to select places of sacred, cultural, traditional, and 
historic significance located outside the withdrawal areas that are 
critical to facilitate the perpetuation and preservation of Alaska 
Native culture and history. Moreover, selection from the withdrawal 
areas would not allow Sealaska to meet the purposes of ANCSA--to create 
continued economic opportunities for the Native people of Southeast 
Alaska. Further, more than 40 percent of the original withdrawal areas 
are salt water and, therefore, not available for selection.
  Despite the small land base in comparison to all other Regional 
Corporations, Sealaska has provided significant economic benefits to 
not only Sealaska Native shareholders, but also to the other Native 
Corporations throughout Alaska. Pursuant to a revenue sharing provision 
in ANCSA, Sealaska distributes considerable revenues derived from its 
development of its natural resources--more than $300 million between 
1971 and 2005--to the other Native Corporations. Unless it is allowed 
to select land outside of the designated withdrawal areas, Sealaska 
will not be able to select land that would allow it to maintain its 
existing resource development and management operations, or provide 
continued economic opportunities for the Native people of Southeast 
Alaska and economic benefits to the broader Alaska Native community 
through the revenue sharing requirements under ANCSA.

  The legislation presents a solution that would allow Sealaska to 
complete the conveyance of its land entitlement and enable the Federal 
Government to complete its statutory obligation to the Natives of 
Southeast Alaska, as promised under ANCSA. The elements of the 
legislation include the following:
  Sealaska would be authorized to select its remaining ANCSA land 
entitlement from a pool of land outside the existing withdrawal areas 
established in ANCSA, a majority of which is on existing forest service 
roads which has second-growth timber land.
  Sealaska would be authorized to use a majority of its remaining 
entitlement for economic development opportunities that would benefit 
its shareholders, the Southeast Alaska economy, and Native shareholders 
throughout Alaska.
  The legislation would also allow Sealaska to use a portion of its 
remaining entitlement for sites with sacred, cultural, traditional, or 
historic significance and for remote Native Enterprise sites with 
traditional and recreational use value.
  The legislation would allow the lands remaining in the withdrawal 
areas to remain in public ownership, almost all of which are roadless 
areas, old-growth timber lands, or land with important public interest 
value.
  I thank my colleagues and urge your support for this important 
legislation for the Native people of Southeast Alaska.

                          ____________________