Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act
Sponsored By: Representative Begich, Nicholas J. [R-AK-At Large]
In Committee
Summary
Remedial recognition and land compensation for five Southeast Alaska Native communities omitted from the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. This bill would let residents form Urban Corporations, set enrollment and share rules, and provide a pathway to deliver land parcels and related rights to those corporations.
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- Residents of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell would be able to organize as Urban Corporations and receive enrollment and share allocations. Eligible members who were Southeast Alaska Regional Corporation shareholders would receive 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock and heirs get specified inheritance-equivalent treatment.
- Each Urban Corporation would be entitled to roughly 23,040 acres delivered in parcels and subject to phased conveyance triggers. Conveyances include rights to roads, trails, log transfer facilities, leases, and related appurtenances.
- The bill requires mutual use and administrative access arrangements for National Forest System roads with the U.S. Forest Service, the State, and federal agencies, and sets a one-year target for mutual use agreements. It also creates settlement trusts for each Urban Corporation with distributions prioritized to elders and minor children while preserving existing settlement agreements and State fish and wildlife authority.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
New Native Urban Corporations and Shares
This bill would let Native residents of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell organize as Urban Corporations. If you are an enrolled Native who was a Southeast Alaska Regional Corporation shareholder and enroll to the Urban Corporation, you would receive 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock in that Urban Corporation. If you inherited Regional Corporation shares from a decedent who was enrolled to one of the listed villages, you would get the same number of shares in the Urban Corporation. You would keep eligibility for at‑large distributions from the Regional Corporation after becoming an Urban shareholder.
Settlement Trusts for Elders and Children
This bill would allow each Urban Corporation to set up a settlement trust to support health, education, welfare, and cultural preservation. Trust income and proceeds would be used first to help enrolled Natives and their descendants who are elders or minor children, and then to help other enrollees. The bill would also require proceeds (including interest) from land withdrawn for conveyance to be handled under the escrow rules of Public Law 94‑204 starting on enactment, which affects how those funds are held and paid out.
Land Transfers and Rights Preserved
This bill would direct the Secretary to convey about 23,040 acres of surface land to Urban Corporations for the five listed communities and give corresponding subsurface rights to the Southeast Alaska Regional Corporation. Conveyed acreage must fall between 23,020 and 23,060 acres and parcels would be transferred generally within two years after incorporation, with one 1‑year extension allowed for individual parcels with pending easement appeals. Conveyances would be subject to valid existing rights and would preserve public subsistence and recreational access subject to safety and posting. The bill would also state that it does not change prior land entitlements, the ANCSA revenue distribution ratio, certain settlement agreements, or existing State rights‑of‑way.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Begich, Nicholas J. [R-AK-At Large]
AK • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Hurd, Jeff [R-CO-3]
CO • R
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov