A parking lot (shaded in yellow) in the historical and cultural area long known as the “Juneau Indian Village” is the first property owned by Central Council of the Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska to be placed into federal trust status. The designation, which Tlingit and Haida is seeking for other properties it owns, will make the tribe eligible for assistance from more federal programs and services. (City and Borough of Juneau)

A parking lot (shaded in yellow) in the historical and cultural area long known as the “Juneau Indian Village” is the first property owned by Central Council of the Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska to be placed into federal trust status. The designation, which Tlingit and Haida is seeking for other properties it owns, will make the tribe eligible for assistance from more federal programs and services. (City and Borough of Juneau)

Tlingit and Haida gets landmark property win from feds

Transfer of small lot into federal trust has big implication’s for tribe’s economic authority.

A tiny parking lot on a little-traveled downtown side street is now a landmark achievement for Alaska Natives in Juneau, with the federal government approving a “land-into-trust” application Thursday that paves the way for a range of self-determination, economic and other benefits for the property’s owners.

The application by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is only the second approved in the state, following one in Craig five years ago. In addition to making Tlingit and Haida eligible for more federal services and programs, the approval also addresses the “landless tribe” issue that has been problematic since the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson said Friday.

“Tlingit and Haida will no longer be a landless tribe, but be eligible for a much greater rage of land-based programs,” he said.

Land-to-trust transfers, also known as “fee-to-trust” acquisitions, transfer a land title to the federal government to be held in trust for the benefit of an individual or tribe. The U.S. Department of Interior, which authorizes the transfers, states among the advantages for tribes are being granted certain rights-of-way and the ability to enter into leases for use of the property’s natural resources.

The property in the approved application, first submitted in 2009, is a parking lot on Capitol Avenue in the historical and cultural area known as the “Juneau Indian Village,” according to a Tlingit & Haida news release. Peterson said it will remain a parking lot, but the approval “brings us one step closer to ensuring our tribe will have a center for our tribal government in perpetuity.”

“The work is not done yet,” he added. “We still have fee-to-trust applications pending that we are hopeful the U.S. Department of the Interior will approve. Many of these parcels were once held subject to a restriction that prevented their alienation or taxation. When Tlingit and Haida purchased these parcels from its tribal citizens, the Bureau of Indian Affairs terminated the federal restrictions that protected them, and it is the tribe’s priority to restore these protections.”

However, Peterson expressed optimism about the fate of the still-pending applications.

“I think we believe this decision speaks for itself in that regard,” he said.

The Interior Department, in an announcement of the application’s approval, stated “federal policies dating back more than a century have eroded the land base of Indian Tribes across the United States…tribes have faced delays and increasing costs in efforts to develop housing projects, manage law enforcement agencies and develop local economies as a result of unnecessary hurdles in the land-into-trust process.”

The first such transfer in Alaska was approved in 2017 after the Craig Tribal Association submitted an application in 2015 for a 1.08-acre parcel where offices and a town hall are located. It was the first approval after the Department of Interior issued a revised rule in 2014 that reserved a policy dating back to the enactment of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1971 that barred the Bureau of Indian Affairs from processing land-into-trust applications in Alaska.

Peterson said a multitude of factors are involved in the 13-year wait for the approval of Tlingit and Haida’s application, but a current presidential administration in favor of the policy is responsible for it occurring now.

“I’ve been smiling all day today as a result of this,” Wáahlaal Gíidaak Barbara Blake, a Juneau Assembly member and director of Alaska Native Policy Center with First Alaskans Institute, told Native News Online. “For a long time, we have been attempting to gain many of the same rights that our tribal brothers and sisters have down there in the Lower 48. We’re just starting to see this come to fruition after so many years of really working hard to ensure that the federal government is holding their responsibility to our tribes here.”

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast for the week of March 18

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

A board in the House Chambers at the Alaska State Capitol shows Monday’s vote tally of 39-20 to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of Senate Bill 140, one vote short of the two-thirds necessary. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Legislature fails by a single vote of 39-20 to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of education bill

Legislators warn bad blood may hamper other issues as numerous Republicans abandon earlier support.

With COVID-19 aid, more schools gave students and families experiencing homelessness prepaid cards to buy necessities like groceries and gas. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Grocery cards and car repairs: How COVID aid changed the way schools can help homeless kids

Juneau student services specialist among those finding creative ways to provide assistance.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Saturay, March 16, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Friday, March 15, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy discusses his veto of a wide-ranging education bill during a press conference Friday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Veto override vote on education bill expected to have consequences — and no assurance of extra funds

Retaliation by governor, fractured relationships within Legislature on other issues among concerns.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Thursday, March 14, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Kaskanak Creek in the Bristol Bay’s Kvichak watershed is seen from the air on Sept. 27, 2011. Threats to the watershed and other sites were cited by the Environmental Protection Agency when it issued a decision barring permitting of the Pebble mine. But the Dunleavy administration and Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. have taken legal action to try to reverse that decision. (Photo provided by Environmental Protection Agency
State lawsuit claims federal government owes Alaska $700 billion for quashing Pebble mine

The federal government owes Alaska more than $700 billion in compensation for… Continue reading

Tongass National Forest (Photo by U.S. Forest Service)
New Department of Interior opinion promises to recognize expanded tribal jurisdiction in Alaska

Tribes can exert jurisdiction over allotments granted to individual Natives, opinion states.

Most Read