Lisa Murkowski: “Celebrating the distinctive cultures and ways of our first peoples strengthens of us. The Alaska Native Claims…”

“Celebrating the distinctive cultures and ways of our first peoples strengthens of us. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act has stood the test of time and proven to be a good thing for the people of Alaska--native and non-native alike. During his introductory remarks, the Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Alexander, drew some distinctions between the situation of the Native Hawaiians and those of Alaska Natives. I would like to offer a few observations for the Record. It is true that some Alaska Natives now and at the time the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 was enacted live in Alaska Native villages. Those villages have never been regarded as Indian reservations. Non-Natives live in Alaska Native villages alongside Alaska Natives. But more significantly, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 did not require that one reside in one of the Alaska Native villages or even in the State of Alaska to be a beneficiary of the settlement. All it required it that an individual have as a result of one's ancestry a specified quantum of Aleut, Eskimo or Indian blood to be an initial shareholder in an Alaska Native Corporation. The Federal Government determined who was eligible to receive stock by formulating a roll of Alaska Natives.…”