Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) was formed in 1972 as the

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting at the time the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve long-standing i ...

(ANCSA) regional corporation for the Bering Straits and

Norton Sound Norton Sound (russian: Нортон-Саунд) is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. It is about 240 km (150 mi) long and 200 km (125 mi) wide. The Yukon ...

region. The corporation actively pursues responsible development of resources and other business opportunities. Through its subsidiaries, BSNC serves the federal government and commercial customers. The corporation is headquartered in the city of

Nome, Alaska Nome (; ik, Sitŋasuaq, ) is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of Alaska, United States. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. It had a population of 3,699 recorded ...

, operates a business office in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, and operates site locations in Alaska, across the United States and internationally. The BSNC region is located in Northwest Alaska and is home to three culturally distinct people: Inupiat, Siberian

Yupik Yupik may refer to: * Yupik peoples, a group of indigenous peoples of Alaska and the Russian Far East * Yupik languages, a group of Eskimo-Aleut languages Yupꞌik (with the apostrophe) may refer to: * Yup'ik people The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg ...

and Central

Yup’ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

. BSNC is owned by more than 8,000

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...

shareholders. BSNC owns and manages a subsurface estate of approximately , of its own and the remainder selected by the region’s 17 village corporations.

Officers and Directors

Shareholders and Descendants

Bering Straits Native Corporation is owned by more than 8,000 Alaska Native shareholders. These include original shareholders, heirs and gift recipients residing inside and outside Alaska. BSNC shareholders who are Alaska Native are eligible to vote for the Board of Directors or on other advisory matters that come to the shareholders for a vote at the Annual Meeting. At incorporation, BSNC enrolled 6,333 Alaska Native shareholders, each of whom received 100 shares of BSNC stock. As an ANCSA corporation, BSNC has no publicly traded stock and its shares cannot legally be sold. BSNC’s Shareholder Relations Department manages shareholder records, stocks, gifting of stock, stock wills and the MyBSNC portal. MyBSNC is an interactive special shareholder portal designed to provide BSNC shareholders information about their shareholder records. The Shareholder Development Department works directly with shareholders and descendants to assist them in identifying and reaching educational and professional career goals. In addition, the department helps connect shareholders and descendants with employment opportunities within the BSNC family of companies. These programs include: * Career Advancement and Resources * Summer Internship Program * Beringia Settlement Trust Scholarships * Shareholder and Descendant Talent Bank * Shareholder Owned Businesses Registry * Descendant Registry

Lands

The BSNC region encompasses most of the

Seward Peninsula The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska whose westernmost point is Cape Prince of Wales. The peninsula projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi S ...

and eastern

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. BSNC's land entitlement under

ANCSA The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting at the time the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve long-standing i ...

includes over 2.1 million acres (8,900 km²) of surface and/or subsurface estate in this region.

Business enterprises

Under federal law, Bering Straits Native Corporation and its majority-owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partnerships are deemed to be "minority and economically disadvantaged business enterprise (43 USC 1626(e)).

References

{{Authority control 1972 establishments in Alaska Alaska Native regional corporations