We are profoundly disappointed and frustrated that the trustees of the defunct Sheldon Jackson College have filed a notice to appeal a recent federal decision rejecting their claim to 160 acres by Redoubt Falls and surrounding areas near Sitka.

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) rejection of their land claim was a victory for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and Sealaska, which filed for title of 11-acres around Redoubt Falls almost 40 years ago under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The Act allows regional Native corporations to select land that is historically or culturally important.

For nearly four decades, Sealaska has sought to protect the site, which we know as Kunáa, a culturally important area that was historically owned by the Kiks.ádi Clan. Sealaska’s claim was finally beginning to move through the BLM process when the college suddenly filed its claim in 2012. In July, the BLM adjudication branch ruled that the Sheldon Jackson trustees failed to prove ownership, and on Aug. 6 they filed a notice to appeal and moved for a stay on BLM action. The appeal means yet another costly delay. And we are left to wonder: who is really behind th­is effort and what do they really want?