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Venetie ( ;Corey Goldberg,

" ''New York Times'', May 9, 1997.
''Vįįhtąįį'' in Gwich’in), is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area ( ) is a census area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,343, down from 5,588 in 2010. With an area of , it is the largest of any county or county-equivalent in the United ...
. At the 2010 census, the population was 166, down from 202 in 2000. It includes the Village of Venetie, a Gwich'in tribal entity designated in the 1971
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by U.S. President, President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting what is still the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to reso ...
.


History

Gwich'in tribal leader
John Fredson John Fredson (born 1896, as Neetsaii Gwich'in - August 22, 1945), was a tribal leader born near Table Mountain in the Sheenjek River watershed of the state of Alaska, United States. He is most noted for gaining federal recognition for the Veneti ...
achieved federal recognition of the larger area of the Venetie Indian Reserve as
Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...
territory in 1941, before Alaska was admitted to the union as a state. It was the largest reservation in Alaska, with approximately when established. Under the 1971
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by U.S. President, President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting what is still the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to reso ...
, most reservations in Alaska were dissolved and the federal government made payments to tribes for considerable territory, designating areas as tribal lands. The Gwich'in tribal lands were reduced. The people continued to adapt. In the early 1980s a "unified Venetie/Arctic village tribal government formally codified traditional principles of
caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...
management into tribal law," an example of Alaska Native
subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing and shelter) rather than to the market. Definition "Subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself and family at a minimum level. Basic subsiste ...
practices. Anthropologist
Steve J. Langdon Steve J. Langdon (born 1948) is an American anthropologist noted for his work with the Tlingit people of southeastern Alaska. He received his Ph.D. in anthropology from Stanford University in 1977. He has taught anthropology at the University o ...
lauded this action as a way of combining traditional spirituality with secular law demonstrating "the resiliency of the traditional cosmology and behavior and its ability to be flexibly incorporated into contemporary institutions and practice." A majority of the residents approved limits on the harvest of the Porcupine caribou herd. In 1987 the Gwich'in tribal council tried to tax a non-native contractor building a school here, saying the council had the right as the government of tribal land. The case went to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...
, in San Francisco, which ruled in 1996 "that the natives had the right to tax businesses on their land, about the size of
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
, because it qualified as
Indian Country Indian country is any of the self-governing Native American or American Indian communities throughout the United States. Colloquially, this refers to lands governed by federally recognized tribes and state recognized tribes. The concept of tri ...
, much like the reservations in the lower 48 states." The state of Alaska appealed that decision, concerned that up to 44 million acres of tribal lands in Alaska might be classified as Indian Country and thus subject to local tribal taxation. (In the
Lower 48 The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The ter ...
, by comparison, about 56 million acres are designated as federally recognized, sovereign Indian reservation lands.) In 1998, the case was heard by the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
, which ruled in '' Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government.'' It determined that the tribal council did not have taxing authority on its land, as the terms of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act had done away with almost all reservations in the state. Under that act, the federal government had made payment to the tribes for land claims and designated tribal lands for them. But, under the terms of the act, the tribal lands do not have the same
sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
status as federally recognized Indian reservations in the
Lower 48 The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The ter ...
.


Geography

Venetie is located at (67.016111, -146.421111) on the Chandalar River. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.


Demographics

Venetie first appeared on the 1940 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. In 1980 it was made a census-designated place (CDP). As of the census of 2000, there were 202 people, 63 households, and 48 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 79 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 3.47%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 92.08% Native American, and 4.46% from two or more races. Most residents are Gwich'in Athabaskan. There were 63 households, out of which 44.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.0% were married couples living together, 30.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21 and the average family size was 3.58. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 32.2% under the age of 18, 17.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 15.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 127.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $21,000, and the median income for a family was $21,429. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $23,750 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the CDP was $7,314. About 34.0% of families and 42.8% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 52.8% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty-five or over.


Education

Yukon Flats School District Yukon Flats School District (YFSD) is a school district headquartered in Fort Yukon, Alaska. Schools They are: * Arctic Village School ( Arctic Village) * Cruikshank School (Beaver) * John Fredson School (Venetie) * Fort Yukon School ( Fort Y ...
operates the John Fredson School.Mailing Addresses and Contact Information
"
Yukon Flats School District Yukon Flats School District (YFSD) is a school district headquartered in Fort Yukon, Alaska. Schools They are: * Arctic Village School ( Arctic Village) * Cruikshank School (Beaver) * John Fredson School (Venetie) * Fort Yukon School ( Fort Y ...
. Retrieved on December 4, 2016.


References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Alaska Census-designated places in Unorganized Borough, Alaska Census-designated places in Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska Gwich'in Populated places of the Arctic United States