Landless Legislation Bills Introduced by Alaska’s Congressional Delegation
Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Today, Alaska Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan introduced a companion bill to Rep. Don Young’s House Bill 3231, which, if adopted would resolve 50 years of injustice for five landless communities in Southeast Alaska.
The bills, which will work their way through committee assignments and hearings in the coming weeks and months, would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) to create urban corporations in Haines, Wrangell, Petersburg, Ketchikan and Tenakee. The five communities were left out of ANCSA when it was originally passed on December 18, 1971. Unlike in other communities in Southeast where ANCSA urban corporations were formed, Natives in the five landless communities have been deprived of the land entitlements and economic and social opportunities that come along with Native corporations.
“Helping to resolve this issue has been among Sealaska’s top public-policy priorities throughout our history,” said Sealaska President and CEO Anthony Mallott. “We urge our shareholders to contact their members of Congress and let them know why we need this legislation to rectify a historical injustice that has stood for far too long.”
Alaska’s Congressional delegation – Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Rep. Don Young – all support the legislation and have been important partners on this issue for many years.
However, members of Congress from other states have little understanding of ANCSA, Alaska Native corporations, our cultures and our priorities. The bill gives the five landless communities the opportunity to select 23,040 acres as part of their ANCSA settlement. Particularly among conservation-minded politicians from outside Alaska, the instinctive reaction is to oppose something that could reduce the size of protected public lands like the Tongass National Forest.
Although landless legislation has been introduced many times over the years, the most recent bills include maps with specific land selections identified for each community. It is the first time maps and specific land selections will be part of the hearings on the proposed legislation.
“Conservation interests have told us, ‘We don’t disagree there’s inequity but we can’t support you because we don’t know where you’re going,’” said Sealaska Vice President of Corporate and Legal Affairs Jaeleen Kookesh.
You Can Help
Alaska’s congressional delegation is well informed and uniformly supportive of resolving this injustice in ANCSA.
Shareholders and descendants can help push the legislation forward by contacting representatives and senators outside Alaska. Support from lawmakers in Washington state, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada and elsewhere could help generate the momentum needed to finally see the five communities receive the urban corporations they have deserved since ANCSA’s passage on Dec. 18, 1971.
Please contact your members of Congress and let them know you support this bill.
If you need help connecting with your members of Congress, visit Congress.gov’s “Find Your Member” tool and enter your city and state or ZIP code and a list of your representatives along with their contact information will pop up.
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We are excited to announce that the results of the 2025 Sealaska election have been certified and are ready to share with all of you.
Congratulations to our 2025 winners. At Sealaska, we are deeply grateful for your participation in this year’s election. Selecting exceptional leaders to help guide our shared future is one of the most meaningful ways for shareholders to engage with us. These winners were randomly selected from the pool of early birds by the Inspectors of Election. All payments will be processed this week and delivered via the payment method on file for distributions in MySealaska.com.
We are continuing our search for a dynamic and visionary leader to serve as Sealaska’s president. It is important that we find the right candidate to fill this position, which is why the Sealaska board of directors is being as exacting as possible as we search for a candidate capable of amplifying the impact of our mission and providing benefits that empower our shareholders. To this end, the Sealaska board of directors recently revised the job description for the position of president and sought the assistance of a professional recruiting firm. Our hope is to announce a successful candidate as our new president this coming summer.
After considering the recently announced U.S. Postal Service delays to First-Class Mail in conjunction with a paper proxy error leading shareholders who wish to vote by mail to potentially wait for their regularly scheduled second proxy mailing, we have made the decision to extend the early bird deadline to June 6. We are listening to shareholders and want to give everyone the best chance to qualify as an early bird. Thank you for understanding and thank you for voting.
Shareholders, an error occurred when printing proxy cards regarding the number of shares you own and votes you have in the top right corner of your proxy card. This error does not affect the validity of your paper proxy, nor does it affect voting on MySealaska.com through the Election Connection portal
Early birds, it’s your time to fly! Congratulations to our 2024 winners.
Sealaska shareholders are invited to join us at our upcoming in-person and virtual community meetings to learn more about Sealaska business operations, upcoming opportunities and connect with fellow shareholders and descendants.
Sealaska shareholders are now able to view and download their IRS Form 1099-DIV for 2023. Printed 1099 tax forms will be mailed on or before Jan. 26.
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Sealaska shareholders are now able to view and download their IRS Form 1099-DIV for 2022. Printed 1099 tax forms will be mailed on or before Jan. 27.
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