"When Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was voted out of office amid scandal last November, Alaska Natives lost a good friend. Now there's talk on Capitol Hill of reconsidering some of the federal contracting preferences enjoyed by Alaska Native corporations (ANCs). They have responded with a letter-writing campaign to keep those benefits and find a few new friends in Congress.

Stevens, a Republican, helped write the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which was signed into law in 1971. It established more than 200 ANCs and gave them nearly $1 billion.

The goal was to lift Alaska Natives out of poverty, but many of the ANCs foundered. So the Alaska delegation — led by "Uncle Ted," as some Alaskans call the former senator — pushed a series of bills through Congress, providing them with special tax benefits and federal contracting preferences."

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Alaska Natives Look For New Friends In Congress (National Public Radio 1/7)