ANCSA's Legacy

There were great celebrations in Alaska with the passage of ANCSA. Native leaders took pride in the fact that Alaska Natives would have official titles to land they had always thought of as theirs. State leaders cleared a hurdle to economic development, and the state land selection process could start again. The oil industry could now proceed with the building of the pipeline. Alaskans and non-Alaskans alike applauded the measure of justice given to Alaska's Native people, who had long been ignored, discriminated against, and taken for granted.

Native leaders noted that the ANCSA settlement raised Alaska Natives in the eyes of many Alaskans, achieving for all Alaska Natives a dignity and legitimacy they did not have before the act. But there were - and are - critics of the act also. Many Natives have argued that not enough land was granted Native title and that Natives received too little money for giving up potential title to so much more land. Some noted that while the leaders in regions and villages prospered under the act, many ordinary villagers did not. 

In recent years, Natives have debated the role of the Native corporations. Some critics have suggested that because corporations have a responsibility to make a profit and that most opportunities to do that are outside Alaska, corporate leaders are focused on circumstances far from village Alaska. Others fear that the corporations further the erosion of traditional Native culture and values, as Alaskan Natives replace their hunter and gather lifestyle for becoming shareholders interested in resource development and profit dividends.

Native corporations are the largest private landholders in Alaska. While some of the corporations have been successful and produced significant cash dividends for their shareholders, not all have. When Congress passed ANCSA, it recognized that the economic potential of the lands selected by Native corporations would not be all the same. As a result, ANCSA has a natural resource revenue-sharing provision to ensure that all Alaskan Native communities benefit from resource development. Under this provision, 70% of revenue from mineral or timber resources must be divided between all the regional corporations in proportion to their membership.

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