Ray Austin: Alaska Native corporations allow few to benefit

Monday, December 12, 2011  

"December 18, 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA), the anniversary of the “great experiment” that failed many Alaska Native corporations (ANC) shareholders, but allowed a few to benefit. I speak as a shareholder of Sealaska and Goldbelt corps.

In 1971, when Sealaska was formed, I was 18 years old. I remember my father talking of the “land claims” and how this deal with Congress would be for the good of the Tlingit people. At that time, my father was 59 years old, one year older than I am now. His father, Robert Austin, the former clan leader of the Shangukeidi (Thunderbird) supported efforts in the struggle for land rights and in 1947, our people turned to the U.S. courts by filing a land claims lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Claims. He died eight years prior to the birth of Sealaska. Two generations have passed away with optimism the land claims would deliver hope and a brighter future for the Tlingit people.

In 1982, Sealaska filed for bankruptcy, two years later my father passed away. In the following decades the decline continued for Ocean Beauty, SEABIC, Alaska Brick Company, SEACAL, Triquest, Fairbanks Sand & Gravel, Alaska Wireless, Sealaska Permanent Fund (SPF) and the $142 million losses in 2001. The SPF started with $68 million in 1986, $100 million in 1996, and $24 million in 2000 with a declining pattern of financial losses."

Get the Story:
Ray Austin: Change Is a Necessity for Sealaska Board (Indian Country Today 12/11)