Alaska Inter-Tribal Council : Advocating for Alaska Tribal Governments

TITLE: Opposing Listing ANCSA Corporations on the Secretary's Annual List of Federally Recognized Tribes.

WHEREAS, the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council is a state wide consortium of federally recognized tribes in Alaska, which share a common bond with unique cultures, languages, spirituality, and traditional values; established in 1992 and is changed to advocate for the inherent rights of tribes in Alaska; and

WHEREAS, for-profit corporations were created in 1971 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, (ANCSA), 43 U.S.C. 1604 et seq., to hold the land and assets that were conveyed to Alaska Natives in the process of settling aboriginal land claims; and

WHEREAS, Tribes existed in Alaska long before the passage of ANCSA and neither the creation of the for profit corporations nor the enactment of ANCSA affected the governmental status of the pre-existing Alaska Native Tribes; and

WHEREAS, in 1987 the Secretary of the Interior promulgated regulations "to establish a departmental procedure and policy for acknowledging that certain American Indian exist," 43 Fed Reg. 39,361 (Sept 5, 1978); and

WHEREAS, although the first list of tribal entities published pursuant to the regulations did not include any Alaska Native entities, its preamble indicated that: "The list of eligible Alaskan entities will be published at a later fate." 44 Fed. Reg. 7,235 (Feb 6, 1979); and

WHEREAS, in the 1982 the Secretary issued a "Preliminary" list of Alaska Native entities that were considered federally recognized and eligible for services and funding administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), 47 Fed. Reg. 53133 (Nov. 24, 1982), consistent with earlier lists the BIA issued from time to time in the 1960s and 1970's; and

WHEREAS, the preamble to the 1982 list noted that "[u]nique circumstance have made eligible for BIA services additional entities in Alaska which are not historical tribes" referring to the fact that the 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act had defined "Indian Tribe" to also include non-governmental, state-charted ANCSA corporations for the limited purposes of authorizing such entities to administer contracts and grants under the Act in geographic areas not served by recognized Tribes; and

WHEREAS, the 1982 Preamble properly excluded such non-tribal entities from the 1982 list and was subsequently republished with the same Alaska Native villages in the 1983 and thereafter; and

WHEREAS, in the 1988 a one year anomaly occurred when the Secretary issued a new list of Alaska Native entities that added all ANCSA corporations on the basis of their eligibility under the ISDEAA and similar laws to carry out certain contracts and grants; and

WHEREAS, confusion generated by the 1988 list promoted the Department of the Interior to undertake a comprehensive review of the entire matter of tribal recognition in Alaska; and

WHEREAS, in January 1993 Interior Solicitor Sansonetti issued a detailed analysis reaffirming that there are federally recognized tribes in Alaska processing powers of self-governance, and based on that analysis the Secretary published a new list of federally recognized tribes, including recognized Tribes in Alaska, which eliminated the ANCSA corporations from the list, 59 Fed. Reg. 54364 (Oct 21, 1993; and

WHEREAS, the 1993 list explained that it was intended to conform to the original intent behind the 1978 acknowledgement regulations limiting the list to the only recognized Tribes having government to government relationship with the United States, and further explained that such tribes "are entitled tot he same protection, immunities, privileges, as other acknowledged tribes; have the same right, subject to general principles of Federal Indian Law, to exercise the same inherent and delegate authorities available to other tribes; and are subject tot he same limitations imposed by the law on the other tribes." and

WHEREAS, Congress in 1999 enacted the "Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act" directing the Secretary to annually publish a list of federally recognized tribes, 25 U.S.C. 479a-1, and further directing that once a Tribe is added to that list, the Tribe can thereafter only be removed from the list by an act of Congress; and

WHEREAS, there are 229 federally recognized tribes in Alaska that have been recognized by the Secretary as possessing a government to government relationship with the United States; and

WHEREAS, in January 2004, Senator Stevens secured passage of a rider to the FY 2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Section 161) that requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to consult with Alaska Native corporations on the same basis as Indian tribes under Executive Order. 13175; and

WHEREAS, certain ANCSA corporations continue to seek to be added to the annual list of federally recognized tribes; and

WHEREAS, ANCSA corporations carry out important functions but are not governmental entities and are instead incorporated under state law; do not possess the general privileges and immunities that tribes possess; are not governed by council of elected tribal leaders owinf duties to tribal members, but by decisions of the board of directors.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the AITC dose hereby oppose the listing of State-Chartered ANCSA corporations on the Secretary's Annual list of Federally Recognized tribes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the AITC urges the OMB and the Department of the Interior to reject any pending or futurerequests to list ANCSA corporations as federally recognized tribes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the AITC urges the Congress to repeal Sec. 161 of the FY 2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act which requires the Director of the Office Management and Budget to consult with Alaska Native corporations on the same basis as Indian tribes in Executive Order 13175; and

BE IF FINALLY RESOLVED, that thsi resolution shall be policy of AITC until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.

CERTIFICATION

The foregoing resolution was adopted at the 2005 Annual Convention at the AI-TC held at the Coast International Inn, in Anchorage, Alaska on December 7, 2005 with a quorum present.

Submitted by: Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Lawrence Widmark, Jr.