73
Arctic Yearbook 2015
the Act transferred 40 million acres of land to Alaska Natives, and provided nearly one billion dollars
as part of the settlement (Hirschfield 1992).
Table 2: Regional Heterogeneity under ANCSA (1970)
High Regional Heterogeneity
Alaska Native Population
% Indian
39.1
20.8
81.7
||
0.4
0.4
0.2
Twelve ANCSA Regions
1. Cook Inlet Native Association
2. Chugach Native Association
3. Tanana Chiefs Conference
||
10. Bering Strait Native Association
11. Arctic Slope Native Association
12. Northwest Alaska Native Association
% Inuit
60.9
79.2
18.3
||
99.6
99.6
99.8
Low Regional Heterogeneity
Within this system that otherwise created weak regional governance and strong local governance,
Alaska’s two northern-most regions (Northwest and North Slope) have developed a unique model.
Like most of the other regions, the regional Alaska Native Corporations worked to solidify the
mandate of a profit-based corporation, while the regional Non-Profit Native Associations (which had
been key participants in AFN and thus in ANCSA negotiations) reorganized into regional non-profit
corporations in order to access federal funds and to manage regional health and social services.
However, the Northwest and North Slope regions went further, and worked to establish a third
regional institution through the creation of borough government.8 The creation of borough
governments—which are regional public governments—introduced an “as-close-as-possible” version
of Indigenous regional self-government in these two regions. Within the two regions, the regional
Alaska native corporation, the non-profit native association, and the borough government have
coordinated a stronger form of regionalism in the Alaskan north (though with some important caveats
on whom each of the institutions provide services to):
Table 3: Institutional Development & Regionalization after ANCSA
Alaska Native Non-Profit
Corporation
Associations
Chugach Alaska
Calista Corp.
Bristol Bay
Doyon, Ltd.
Bering Straits
Aleut Corp.
Sealaska
Koniag, Inc.
Ahtna Inc.
Cook Inlet
NANA
Arctic Slope
Davidson
Native Regional
Borough Village Tribal Regionalization
Government
Gov’ts
-Association of Village Council
Presidents
Bristol Bay Native Ass’c
Tanana Chiefs Conference
Kawerak, Inc.
Aleutian/Pribilof Islands
Central Council Tlingit &
Haida Indian Tribes
Kodiak Area Native Ass’c
Copper River Native Ass’c
Cook Inlet Tribal Council
Maniilaq
Arctic Slope Native Ass’c
--
6
Weak
--
56
Weak
-----
32
32
18
15
Weak
Weak
Weak
Weak
--
10
Weak
---Northwest Arctic Borough
North Slope Borough
9
8
8
Weak
Weak
Weak
Medium (ad hoc)
Medium (ad hoc)
11
8