Alaskan Natives, Legislation Concerning

The United States has passed a number of laws related to Native Americans, some applying specifically to Alaska and others concerning Native Americans as a whole. The earliest of these, passed on May 17, 1884, was called the Organic Law and established a form of government, a set of laws, and education for all races. After the turn of the 20th century, the Native Allotment Act of 1906 provided homesteading parcels for Native Alaskans averaging 40 acres. Only 100 or so have been allotted.

After Alaska became a territory in 1912, a state legislature was created and Juneau became the capital. In 1959, Alaska became a state. The Alaskan Native Leaders have been involved with the politics throughout the changes that have taken place in Alaska, from tribal in their beginnings to an international level today. Since 1924 with William L. Paul becoming the first Alaska Native elected to the territorial legislature, the Aboriginal Peoples of Alaska have played an increasing role in the creation and enforcement of laws concerning their people. The following paragraphs examine some of those laws.

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. This bill decrees that Indigenous Peoples within the United States and its territories have U.S. citizenship, rights, and property. However, the Aleuts on the Pribilof Islands, St. George and St. Paul, lived in virtual servitude, forbidden to leave their islands. During World War II, the Aleuts were evacuated and sent to internment camps in Southeast Alaska, where they discovered the freedoms enjoyed by the Southeast Alaskan Natives and so sought assistance for their emancipation.

Duck Stamp Act of 1934. This law required a federal license for the hunting of migratory birds and prohibited Alaska Natives from partaking in the right to hunt and gather eggs for their traditional foods due to the Canadian and U.S. migratory bird treaty. The latter treaty was amended in 1996 to include Alaska Natives.

Equal Rights Bill of February 16, 1944. In response to severe prejudicial treatment toward minorities, the Alaska Native Brotherhood and the related Sisterhood organization lobbied against racial discrimination. The bill called for “full and equal” rights for “all citizens.”

Alaska Statehood, 1959. As part of the Alaskan Statehood Act, 103 million acres were allotted for federal land without regard for the indigenous tribal properties or hunting, fishing, and gathering areas. Land claims were filed with the Indian Claims Commission, implementing a freeze on the lands. International attention was aroused when this freeze affected the Trans-Alaska Pipeline project, and that expedited the negotiation process. More than 400 proponents from Native communities congregated, forming the Alaska Federation of Natives, to unify Alaska Natives' voice and lobby for the Land Claims Bill.

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, December 18, 1971. In one fell swoop, Congress replaced tribalism with corporatism. Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) corporations were allotted $962.5 million and 44 million acres. The Natives were divided among 13 regions and 12 corporations, with the 13th region receiving monetary allotments rather than land. Natives possessing less than one-quarter Alaskan Native blood or born after 1971 were denied shareholder status unless they inherited shares. Inupiat Howard Rock formed the newspaper Tundra Times for the very purpose of informing the general public of this issue and other Alaskan Aboriginal issues.

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