New bill would resolve Sealaska land issue

It's widely acknowledged that Sealaska Corp. is owed some land. "It's time that we resolve the entitlement issue to Sealaska," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who introduced the Senate version of a new bill that settles its four-decade-long land entitlement. Last year's bill has been tweaked to answer concerns. But it is still contentious, and many complain Sealaska has been neither collaborative nor transparent.

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It's widely acknowledged that Sealaska Corp. is owed some land.

"It's time that we resolve the entitlement issue to Sealaska," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who introduced the Senate version of a new bill that settles its four-decade-long land entitlement.

Last year's bill has been tweaked to answer concerns. But it is still contentious, and many complain Sealaska has been neither collaborative nor transparent.

The 50-person town of Edna Bay sent about 1,100 letters to members of Congress last year and got no responses. Sealaska Corp. had its eye on a chunk of the island on which they live, hunt, fish and gather food.

"The scale of logging that's going to happen, it's going to leave Edna Bay with nothing," said Edna Bay Homeowners' Association President Heather Richter, pointing out a swath of proposed Sealaska selection ringing the nearby mountain. "That is just going to devastate Mount Frances. I can't even imagine that, and I am not against logging, not at all."

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 created the Alaska Native urban, village and regional corporations and promised to divvy up 44 million acres among them.

But Sealaska never claimed all the land in Southeast it was due - partly, it says, because much of the land it could choose from was under saltwater. The corporation is still owed up to 85,000 acres, or about 133 square miles.

The bill doesn't designate the land, but creates a new pool from which Sealaska will select it.

Get the complete story at the Juneau Empire.