Alaska Natives Without Land FAQ

+ What is “Alaska Natives Without Land?”

Alaska Natives Without Land is an advocacy group dedicated to uniting the five Southeast communities left out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), for the purpose of restoring a minute fraction of Alaska Native land ownership rights to the Alaska Native communities of present-day Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee Springs and Wrangell. We work with and for our landless communities in order to begin the generational healing of our Native brothers and sisters excluded from ANCSA, the largest indigenous land claims settlement in American Indian and Alaska Native history. Our ultimate goal is to support the enactment of federal legislation that will amend ANCSA to include the five landless communities and authorize the establishment of five new urban Native corporations that will be responsible for managing one township (23,040 acres) of Native homelands for each community.

+ The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act became law nearly 50 years ago. If land claims were settled then, why are these communities asking for recognition and lands now?

Because for these five Southeast Alaska Native communities, an injustice remains; their land claims were not settled. Congressional commissioned studies have proven the communities’ eligibility for inclusion in the Act and no explanation for their omission at ANCSA inception. Being left out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act meant that they did not receive the monetary compensation or land that came with inclusion, not to mention the opportunity to create an Alaska Native corporation for the benefit of each of the communities. Land lies at the heart of the Alaska Native culture and identity and no matter the amount of time passed, the failure by Congress to include these five communities needs to be rectified.

+ What does your support look like?

Alaska Natives Without Land’s work ranges from ground-up advocacy efforts in our Southeast communities and the Lower 48, to legislative support and communications at the state and national level. We work closely with the nonprofit organization for the five communities—the Southeast Alaska Landless Corporation (SALC)—to tailor to individual community needs and advocate for the landless as a whole, instead of separate parts.

+ How do I volunteer for the Alaska Natives Without Land campaign?

Get in touch with our team! Email us at info@withoutland.org for opportunities to support and organize for our landless communities.

+ Who manages Alaska Natives Without Land?

Alaska Natives Without Land is campaign-managed by Cedar Group Alaska LLC in coordination with the SALC board. The SALC board is made up of representatives of nonprofits established by each of the individual landless communities.

+ How do I volunteer for the Alaska Natives Without Land campaign?

Get in touch with our team! Email us at info@withoutland.org for opportunities to support and organize for our landless communities.

+ What happened to the landless petition and letter of support I signed in 2019 and/or 2020?

The thing about petitions and letters of support is that they relate to a specific goal or call to action. In the landless case, our call to action in 2019–2020 was the November 2020 bill introduction of the “Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act” (S. 4891 and H.R. 8751). Yet since we were not able to move the bill through Congress to approval, we have to once again reintroduce legislation, which will have different bill numbers assigned to it. This is why we have new petitions and letters of support, to show support for specific bills. This lets our representatives know that there is incredible support for our landless communities no matter the obstacles presented through the legislative process. Alaska Natives Without Land manages an online petition database of supporters for the pending legislation. In September 2019, representatives from the Southeast Alaska Landless Corporation and Alaska Natives Without Land traveled to Washington, D.C., to present Senator Lisa Murkowski with a 29-page ANWL Legislation Support Petition signed by 307 people, along with 211 letters of support from the landless communities. Alaska Natives Without Land continues to compile petitions and support letters for the Alaska and Washington congressional delegations. As of August 31, 2020, there were 840 petitions, 520 letters and 124 community volunteers!

+ Since I signed a petition in the past do I need to sign new petitions offered?

Yes! The more signatures the better. Every time we send a new petition pertaining to our cause, we show members of Congress that this is an issue that needs swift resolution and will not be swept under the rug. Click HERE to sign a new petition for this 117th Congress!

+ I sent a letter of support to the Alaska congressional delegation in the last session of Congress. Now that we are in a new session should I send another letter of support?

Absolutely! We have to keep our foot on the gas and keep providing our landless communities with the continued support they need to get legislation approved.

+ What will it take to get this issue resolved?

There’s no question that the legislative process is complex and to move Congress to address historic inequities through the legislative process takes time — however, 50 years has been way too long to right this historic wrong. It took Congress 104 years to address Alaska Native rights to the land after the Alaska purchase! But it is also true that the landless legislation has more momentum and attention now than it ever has. This issue can only be fixed by Congress amending ANCSA to include the communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee Springs and Wrangell, and thus allow them to create urban corporations and manage a single township of land in each of their communities. Only then will this issue be resolved.

+ I do not live in Alaska but want to support landless recognition — should I contact my state’s congressional delegation?

Yes! Ultimately, the full U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate will vote on this issue when it passes out of the various committees of jurisdiction. This is an important indigenous land rights, human rights, and equality issue. Therefore it is important to build awareness and advocacy through every state's congressional delegation. Starting local counts!

+ Why hasn’t this already been addressed by the federal government?

The landless communities initially believed that their exclusion from ANCSA could and would be addressed through early amendments to ANCSA and/or through an appeal to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Efforts were made on both fronts in the 1970s and 1980s; however, it ultimately became clear that new federal legislation specifically for the five communities would be required. Congress enacted federal legislation in the early 1990s that directed the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture to study the exclusion of the landless communities. A report was produced that supports the long history of these communities as Alaska Native communities. The report confirmed our understanding that Congress did not give any particular reason at all for excluding these five communities. New legislation was subsequently introduced to resolve the claims of the five landless communities, but, as detailed below, the various forms of legislation were stalled from unrelated legislative priorities and in some cases were met with resistance from some interest groups.

+ What prevented previous bills from advancing through Congress?

It is extremely difficult to advance legislation through Congress without bipartisan support. In the past, some national conservation groups have convinced Democratic leadership that they should oppose the landless legislation because it would transfer land out of public ownership in the Tongass National Forest. Similar opposition was mounted a few years ago against federal legislation that authorized Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans to select Native allotments under the terms of the 1906 Allotment Act. (These are Alaska Native veterans who missed the opportunity to select an allotment prior to a legislative deadline because they were away from home serving in the military at the time.) In order to advance the Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans allotment legislation, Alaska’s congressional delegation was forced to amend the legislation to prohibit veterans from selecting their allotments from anywhere within the Tongass National Forest. This is the political reality that we confront in the context of the landless legislation. Because the legislation necessarily involves a transfer of land out of “public” ownership, and because the management of the Tongass National Forest is such a political lightning rod, we face a serious political challenge. Our land claims should not be a partisan issue! The good news is that the national attention — including the attention of many national conservation groups — has turned in the last two years to acknowledge and address the racial inequities associated with conservation platforms that focus only on preservation while failing to recognize the rights of indigenous communities to self-determination. We believe we are making progress in our work with the conservation community, and we believe we have momentum to finally advance legislation during this Congress.

+ I have heard reference to an “ISER report” that studied why the communities were left out of ANCSA. What is ISER?

ISER stands for Institute of Social and Economic Research, and refers to a research and education cohort at the University of Alaska Anchorage that conducts public policy research throughout the state. In 1993, Congress requested that the U.S. Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture conduct an in-depth review and analysis of why Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee and Wrangell were excluded from ANCSA; ISER was tasked with producing this report. Their extensive research outlines and supports the long history of these communities as Alaska Native communities and confirms that Congress failed to articulate any reason for excluding the five communities. The report is called “A Study of Five Southeast Alaska Communities.”

+ Do conservationist organizations support the landless?

At this time, we are in the process of engaging with local and regional conservation groups and we have had conversations with organizations at the national level. Our ongoing efforts have created a space for education and understanding between the conservationist community and the landless, and we will continue to develop and enhance these relationships.

+ Do the landless have the support of the Native community?

The landless have the full backing and support of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood, the Alaska Federation of Natives, and the National Congress of American Indians, among other tribes and Native groups. We are in the process of reaching out to more Alaska Native and American Indian tribes, Native organizations, and Alaska Native corporations for their support.

+ I’m non-Native and would not have shares in the new corporations. How would this legislation benefit me and other non-shareholder community members?

This legislation would benefit non-shareholders just as every other Alaska Native regional, urban and village corporation currently does ─ through efforts to build businesses within each individual community and beyond. Alaska Native corporations are an integral part of the Alaska economy, generating billions of dollars in annual revenues, and bringing diversity and opportunity to the economic landscape through jobs and partnerships with various industries and subsidiaries. Alaska Native corporations also contribute to statewide nonprofit organizations that serve all Alaskans through youth development, workforce development, health and humanitarian services, and arts and culture. These benefits often extend to all Alaskans, not just Alaska Natives. Learn more about how ANCs contribute to the region here.