EP 25 The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act shapes Alaska’s Past and Future with Aaron Leggett

Aaron Leggett explains the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA. ANCSA was established on December 18, 1971, and is a landmark policy for many reasons. As a result of the act, Alaska Natives retained 44 million acres of land and about 1 billion dollars to settle Indigenous land claims in Alaska. It also divided the state into 12 regional corporations and almost 200 village corporations that split the money and the land. Before ANCSA, ​the traditional way the United States ​had negotiated land settlements and compensation with Native tribes ​was in the form of reservations ​and treaties​. ANCSA changed the fundamental existence of Alaska as a state as well as the way we think about ​Indigenous land settlements, and this December marks its 50th Anniversary.  Aaron is the president of the Native Village of Eklutna and the Anchorage Museum’s ​Senior Curator. He’s a shareholder in Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, or CIRI, one of the​ regional Alaska Native corporations set up by ANCSA​. ​He’s also a shareholder and has served on the board of Eklutna, Inc., one of the village corporations set up by ANCSA. Photo courtesy of CIRI

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