Increased conflict

The issue of what land belonged to Alaskan Natives became even more urgent with the Statehood Act. In 1960, new state leaders began selecting the 104 million acres that had been granted to the state by the federal government with statehood. Native groups protested many of the selections based on the disclaimer in the Statehood Act that Alaska could not claim title to lands that may already be subject to Native title. 

What lands in Alaska might be subject to Native title? Congress had never made any treaties with Alaska Natives. Congress and the executive branch had taken about 54 million acres of Alaska's 375 million acres in specific withdrawals, creating the Tongass and Chugach National Forests, Katmai National Monument, Mt. McKinley (now Denali) National Park, Glacier Bay National Monument, National Petroleum Reserve, and a number of small fish and wildlife refuges. These withdrawals had ended any Native title on those lands. However, nearly all of the rest of Alaska could be subject to Native title. 

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