Blast from the Past: Alaska Native sovereignty

Wednesday, January 23, 2008  

The Anchorage Daily News republishes an April 19, 1997, article about the Alaska v. Venetie court case.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that land in the village of Venetie was Indian Country. The ruling was hailed by Alaska Natives as a recognition of their sovereignty.

But then-Gov. Tony Knowles (D) and Republican lawmakers appealed the decision. More than 100 Alaska Natives protested in Anchorage on April 18, 1997, to spend more than $1 million on the case.

''Sovereignty is a commodity that is not for sale,'' activist Charles Etok Edwardsen said, the paper reported.

The U.S. Supreme Court eventually accepted the case and ruled that the land was not Indian Country. The court said the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act terminated federal supervision of million of acres in Alaska though some allotments and one reservation remain unaffected.

Get the Story:
Natives protest Indian country fight (The Anchorage Daily News 1/23)
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Alaska v. Venetie:
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