What has the divisive Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act created for Alaska's Native Peoples and how does Congress hold accountability? Or do they?
DEC 18, 2023
Sophie Swope
Executive Director of the Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition
Fifty-two years ago, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was enacted. This legislation profoundly reshaped the lives of Alaskan Natives, including my own at age 25. The Dec. 18, 1971 legislation meant to usher in a new era of native land settlements from the failed reservation system, instead led to the fragmentation of our ancestral lands and a redefined relationship with them.