Sealaska Heritage Institute, Juneau, Alaska

Sealaska Corporation is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under 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 ...

of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Sealaska was incorporated in

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. ...

on June 16, 1972.Corporations Database
Sealaska Corporation
Division of Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing,

Alaska Department of Commerce The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED) is a department within the government of Alaska. The department contains the Control Office (AMCO). It conducts board certification of physicians and nurses, and issue ...

, Community and Economic Development. Retrieved on 2007-03-18. Headquartered in

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

, Sealaska is a for-profit corporation with more than 23,000 Alaska Native shareholdersBluemink, Elizabeth. (2007-03-18)
"Sharing Sealaska corporation with eligible descendants: Owners will vote on whether to add thousands to their corporation."
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Anchorage Daily News The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorag ...

'', pp. F1, F5. Retrieved on 2007-03-18. primarily of

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

, Haida, and

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only r ...

descent.Sealaska Corporation
(official website). Retrieved on 8/12/2019 In 1981 Sealaska Corporation sponsored the creation of the non-profit Sealaska Heritage Foundation, now the Sealaska Heritage Institute, which manages its cultural and educational programs. Sealaska’s primary economic drivers are natural resources, land management, environmental services and seafood.

Shareholders

At incorporation, Sealaska enrolled 15,782 Alaska Natives, each of whom received 100 shares of Sealaska stock. Approximately 1,800 additional Alaska Natives have since received Sealaska stock through inheritance of shares or gifting. As an ANCSA corporation, Sealaska has no publicly traded stock and its shares cannot legally be sold. Sealaska shareholders voted on June 23, 2007 to enroll qualified descendants of original shareholders by issuing them 100 shares of life estate stock in Sealaska. However, unlike shares of original shareholders, the new shares would expire on the descendant's death and could not be willed or gifted. To be eligible, descendants must be children or grandchildren of original Sealaska shareholders, must be of at least one-quarter Alaska Native descent, and must not be a member of any other regional corporation unless through inheritance or gift. Sealaska is one of the few ANCSA Regional Corporations to elect to enroll descendants and allot them shares. Sealaska has established a Permanent Fund, comprising investments in stocks, bonds, real estate and private equity funds, as a source of shareholder dividends. Sealaska reinvests a significant portion of its earnings back into its community-oriented subsidiaries, as well as offers its own opportunities for young shareholders. Program offerings include things like scholarships for both full- and part-time students, wellness and culture camps, summer internships, and the Board Youth Advisor position.

Lands

From ANCSA section 14, Sealaska owns approximately of surface estate and of subsurface estate in Southeast Alaska. Despite having the most shareholders of any regional corporation, it received the least amount of land in the 44 million acre settlement. Sealaska received a second conveyance of land, approximately 65,000 acres, as a result of advocacy in Congress. Sealaska's current land holdings in Southeast Alaska are roughly 1.6 percent of the traditional homelands that the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people inhabited for more than 10,000 years. There are also five traditional communities that were left out of the original ANCSA conveyance. Sealaska is working to get these communities the land due to them.

Business enterprises

Sealaska’s primary economic drivers are natural resources, land management, environmental services and seafood.

References

{{Authority control 1972 establishments in Alaska Alaska Native culture in Juneau Alaska Native regional corporations Companies based in Juneau, Alaska Tlingit