Our Land Rights

How Our Historic Land Claims Relate to ANCSA Section 17(d)(1)

Storyknife, Mar/Apr 2024 edition

On June 1, 1972, the Calista Corporation incorporators attended a ceremony in Washington, D.C. to approve the creation of Calista and two other regional corporations. One of Calista’s top priorities was selecting lands. Pictured left to right: Assistant Secretary of the Interior Harrison Loesch, Senator Ted Stevens, and Calista incorporators Elizabeth Beans, Paul Dixon, William Tyson, Fred Notti, Robert Nick and Phillip Guy. Dept of Interior / Ted Stevens Foundation photo.

July 1, 2024 update: Calista Corporation appreciates the decision for no action on ANCSA 17(d)(1) lands. Calista also took the position of no action, which Calista advocated for earlier this year.

In 1971, Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, authorizing the U.S. Department of the Interior to convey 45 million acres of land to 12 Alaska Native regional corporations and 200-plus village corporations.

However, despite hard work and good-faith efforts including the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act of 2004, many village and regional corporations have not received their full entitlement.

Across Alaska, village corporations are still owed 636 square miles and regional corporations are still owed 1,360 square miles of their ANCSA entitlement, according to U.S. Bureau of Land Management calculations.

Calista is still owed 330 square miles of its ANCSA subsurface entitlement, and 24 Village Corporations in the Region are still owed 109 square miles of their surface entitlement.

“The promises made over 50 years ago to resolve our Alaska Native land claims need to be honored,” says Tisha Kuhns, Calista Vice President of Land and Natural Resources.

Section 17(d)(1) Impact on Land Selections

Meanwhile, the Interior Department is proposing to lift its ANCSA Section 17(d)(1) withdrawals throughout Alaska, including in the Calista Region.

This would open these lands to State selection and mining claims, making them unavailable to Calista and the Village Corporations to fulfill their entitlement, and potentially unavailable for other purposes that are important to our Shareholders.

Calista submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on its Draft Environmental Impact Statement to revoke ANCSA 17(d)(1) withdrawals, stating that our preferred alternative is Alternative A, the no action alternative, which would keep the Section 17(d)(1) withdrawals.

“The promises made over 50 years ago to resolve our Alaska Native land claims need to be honored.”

Tisha Kuhns, Calista Vice President of Land and Natural Resources

The BLM requested comments to be submitted by February 14. Calista requested a 90-day comment period extension so that all 56 Tribes and 45 Village Corporations in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region have ample time to provide meaningful comments.

View the 17(d)(1) Final EIS documents

A Record of Decision on the Final EIS is expected this summer.