Alaska Delegation Reintroduces Landless Legislation For Southeast Native Communities

Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, along with Representative Nick Begich, have reintroduced legislation aimed at granting land entitlements to five Alaska Native communities in Southeast Alaska: Haines, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Tenakee.

The proposed Alaska Native Landless Equity Act would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971 to allow these five communities to form urban Native corporations and receive 23,040 acres of federal land each. When ANCSA was enacted over five decades ago, these five communities were excluded.

“It is long past time that we acknowledge that these five communities were wrongfully excluded from ANCSA. Our Landless legislation would remedy this half-century injustice,” said Senator Murkowski.

The bill outlines that land se