Alaska Native Landless Equity Act Grants 5 Communities Land, Corporate Status, Fixing Historic Oversight

When the original Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was passed back in 1971, it was supposed to settle land claims and establish Native corporations across the state. But five communities in Southeast Alaska—Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell—were left out of the deal. The Alaska Native Landless Equity Act is basically here to fix that massive omission.

This bill’s core action is to officially authorize residents in these five communities to form their own Urban Corporations under ANCSA. Once formed, these corporations become eligible for the land and financial benefits that other Native communities have had for decades. Think of it as finally getting the keys to a house you should have inherited years ago.

Corporate Status and the 23,040-Acre Correction

The biggest real-world impact of this Act is the land transfer. Under Section 6, the federal government must transfer the surface rights of approximately 23,040 acres of federal land to each of the five new Urban Corporations. That’s a significant amount of land—over 115,000 acres combined—that these communities can use for economic development, cultural preservation, and housing.

For the people who enroll in these new corporations, the bill also clarifies shareholder eligibility (Section 4). If you’re an eligible Native resident, you’ll receive 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock in the new Urban Corporation. This stock represents ownership and a claim on future corporate earnings. It’s like getting a stake in a new, community-owned business venture.

Crucially, the subsurface rights—meaning the mineral and resource rights below the surface—for all that transferred land will go to the existing Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska. This is standard ANCSA practice, ensuring that regional entities handle large-scale resource development while local corporations manage the surface.

Keeping the Doors Open (Mostly)

One detail that affects the general public is what happens to this land once it’s transferred. Since much of this land is currently federal (like parts of the Tongass National Forest), people use it for recreation, hunting, and fishing. The bill addresses this directly (Section 6), requiring that the transferred land must remain open to the public for subsistence uses, noncommercial hunting and fishing, and other recreational uses.

However, the new Urban Corporation can impose “reasonable restrictions” for safety, minimizing commercial conflicts, or protecting cultural resources. This is where things get a little vague (Vague_Authority, Section 6). While the intent is clearly to preserve access, what one person considers a “reasonable restriction” might be seen as a roadblock by someone else. For the average hiker or fisher, this means checking the new corporation’s rules before heading out, as access might shift from wide-open federal land rules to more specific corporate regulations.

The Administrative Hurdles and the Haines Caveat

The bill isn’t just about land; it’s about making the transition work. To help the five new corporations get organized and manage the complex land transfer process, the Act authorizes $12,500,000 in appropriations, distributed as five separate grants of $2,500,000 each. This funding is essential for the planning and legal work required to manage 23,040 acres of new corporate land.

There’s one specific snag in the plan for the Haines Urban Corporation (Section 6). Their land transfer is split into phases, and the second phase is contingent on resolving existing federal mining claims held by a private company, Coeur Mining. This means that while four of the five communities can proceed relatively quickly, Haines’ full land entitlement is tied to the actions and agreements of a private entity, which could introduce delays and uncertainty for that specific community. It’s a real-world example of how existing claims can complicate even the most beneficial legislation.