[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E961-E962]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE SOUTHEAST ALASKA NATIVE LAND ENTITLEMENT 
                            FINALIZATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 23, 2009


  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, today I, along with my 
distinguished colleagues, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Boren 
and Mr. Shuler introduce 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.
  In 1971, Congress enacted ANCSA to recognize and settle the 
aboriginal claims of Alaska Natives. 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, which was less than 1 percent of the total 
of all ANCSA lands. Now, nearly four decades since ANCSA's passage, 
Sealaska is still without their full land entitlement.
  It remains critical that Sealaska complete its remaining land 
entitlement under ANCSA 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, 
over 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. However, ANCSA 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 portions of those lands should more 
appropriately remain in public ownership.
  The selection limitations preclude Sealaska from 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,

[[Page E962]]

selection from the withdrawal areas would not allow Sealaska to meet 
the purposes of ANCSA, which is 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 
timber development--more than $315 million between 1971 and 2007--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. I thank my colleagues and 
urge your support for this important legislation for the Native people 
of Southeast Alaska.

                          ____________________