ANCHORAGE — The state’s decision not to appeal a recent court ruling will ease the way for Alaska Native communities to put their lands into federal trust, a practice allowed for American Indian tribes in the Lower 48.
Here’s a closer look at the effect of the appellate court ruling that dismissed Alaska’s challenge of land trust applications.
Out of the loop
For decades, Alaska tribes were barred from seeking trust status under an Interior Department regulation that was based on an interpretation of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
That law compensated tribes for the loss of historically used lands and established regional and village Native corporations throughout the state. It also let the corporations select 44 million acres and appropriated them nearly $963 million.
Only separate lands officially owned by tribes, however, can qualify for trust status. It’s unclear how much land that amounts to, although most of Alaska’s 231 federally recognized tribes have no property of their own, according to Kevin Illingworth, associate professor in the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ tribal management program.
“The idea (behind the Interior Department rule) was to, instead of leaving the trust responsibility with the federal government, basically turn over that responsibility to the corporations,” Illingworth said.
Perks of land trust
With lands in trust, tribes enter an ownership partnership with the federal government. They can then tap into more federal funding for economic development and law enforcement projects, and obtain authority to institute and enforce their own laws.
The tiny Gwich’in Athabascan village of Chalkyitsik, among the tribes that fought the exception in court, plans to apply for federal land trust, with one goal being to secure money for a local law enforcement presence.
First chief Woodie Salmon also envisions creating more jobs in the village 420 miles northeast of Anchorage.
Call for change
Chalkyitsik was one of four tribes that challenged the so-called Alaska exception in 2006. They wanted greater sovereignty, and to be treated like other federally recognized tribes.
The Native American Rights Fund represented the plaintiffs, who sought a review of the law that prohibited the interior secretary from taking Alaska land into trust except in one community, Metlakatla, recognized as the state’s only reservation.
The state intervened, arguing in favor of the decades-old Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act interpretation. The state’s long-standing position was that Alaska tribes were singled out because of that unique arrangement, Alaska Department of Law spokeswoman Cori Mills said.
Protracted legal fight
A court ruled in favor of the tribes in 2013, prompting an appeal by the Interior Department and the state.
The following year, the federal government had an about-face and changed the regulation, deciding to handle Alaska trust applications on a case-by-case basis.
The state continued its appeal. But in July, a federal appeals court ruled Alaska’s argument was moot because the Interior Department’s regulation no longer existed and the state presented no new claims.
On Monday, the state announced it won’t appeal, and instead will meet with stakeholders and see if its concerns can be addressed outside court.
New era
The state’s decision “ushers in a new era for Alaska tribes” and ends a long history of animosity, the Native American Rights Fund said in a statement.
The organization praised Gov. Bill Walker for deciding to work with tribes in a policy shift from previous administrations that “chose to vigorously litigate any assertion of tribal sovereignty.”
Native American Rights Fund attorney Heather Kendall Miller on Thursday hailed the state’s decision to forgo further litigation.
Applications seeking trust status will be accepted by the Interior Department, starting Monday.
