Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act

H.R. 41, the Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act, has passed committee review and is eligible for a floor vote. If enacted, the bill would allow Alaska Native residents of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell to organize as Alaska Native urban corporations. These communities would receive land conveyed by the Department of the Interior, including any U.S. interests in roads, trails, log transfer facilities, leases, and related appurtenances on that land.

The bill would also direct Interior to convey subsurface rights to the regional Southeast Alaska corporation. Each new urban corporation could establish a settlement trust to support the health, education, and welfare of community members and to preserve Alaska Native heritage and culture. This legislation would provide formal federal recognition and land entitlements to these five communities that currently lack such status.