Landless legislation to be reintroduced in 117th Congress
Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Campaign organizers with Alaska Natives Without Land are optimistic that legislation advancing the land claims of Alaska Natives from five Southeast communities will be reintroduced during the 117th Congress, which got underway on Jan. 3, 2021.
Haines, Tenakee, Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg were inexplicably left out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, and were unable to form urban Native corporations. Alaska Natives from these communities have gone 50 years without the economic benefits that are associated with urban corporations, including dividends, scholarships, local economic development and more. The bill, called the Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act, would amend ANCSA to include the five communities and allow them to form urban corporations.
Although advocates have been fighting for inclusion and recognition for 50 years, since ANCSA’s original passage, last year’s legislation fell victim to timing and the chaos that enveloped federal politics at the close of the year. It must now be reintroduced.
“We cannot control other issues that draw the attention of Congress, or whether there is a final bill within each Congressional session,” said Nicole Hallingstad, who serves on Sealaska’s Board of Directors and is from the landless community of Petersburg. “What we can control is the continued work to get the legislation introduced in each session, and to keep community members and other interested parties up to date with our efforts and progress.”
The advocacy group Alaska Natives Without Land provides regular updates on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts and on its website about the status of the legislation and opportunities for shareholders, descendants and other allies to lend their support. The group is currently asking advocates to post videos of support on the issue using the hashtag #LandBack, and to send videos, photos or other testimonials to info@withoutland.org so they can share it with their audiences.
The group’s steering committee, Southeast Alaska Landless Committee, is also planning to announce a special opportunity for youth board members to join the fight within the next couple of months. The hope is that youth board members will help bring awareness of the issue to younger shareholders and descendants, whose futures will be most impacted by the creation of new urban corporations through the financial and other benefits they can provide.
“There is no stopping us,” Hallingstad said. “We will stay at this until a bill is passed to give land to our five communities who deserved it 50 years ago, and still deserve it today.”
News Search
544 results found
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.
Film is a mirror: Sealaska shareholder descendant Miciana Hutcherson reflects on Black History Month
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.
What Are Shareholders Saying? How does blood quantum impact your life?We asked this simple question and more than 600 shareholders answered, so far. Below are a few of the perspectives we shared via our social channels. Some of these posts you will love. Some you may not. Sealaska has not taking a position, we are …