HR 41 · 119th CongressIn Committee

Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act

Latest updateApr 2, 2026

Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-579.

Native Americans

Sponsor

Nicholas Begich

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

April 2, 2026

Legislative Progress

How far this bill has traveled through Congress

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 established a framework for recognizing Alaska Native villages and corporations, providing them with land and financial settlements. However, five southeastern Alaska communities—Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell—were omitted from this original settlement structure. These communities have remained unrecognized under federal law, unable to form Native corporations or receive land entitlements that other Alaska Native communities obtained decades ago. This exclusion has left Alaska Natives in these communities without the same legal standing and economic benefits available to their counterparts elsewhere in Alaska.

This bill amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to authorize the five southeastern communities to establish Urban Corporations and receive land compensation. The Department of the Interior shall enroll eligible Alaska Natives from each community as shareholders in their respective Urban Corporations, granting each shareholder 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock. The bill also directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey approximately 23,040 acres of federal surface land to each of the five Urban Corporations—totaling roughly 115,200 acres—while conveying the subsurface (mineral) rights to the existing Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska. These conveyances shall be considered full satisfaction of the communities' entitlements under the Act.

The land conveyances must be completed within two years of each Urban Corporation's incorporation, though the Secretary may extend this deadline by up to one year for individual parcels pending appeal of easement decisions. The federal land is withdrawn from mining claims, mineral leasing, and other forms of disposition until conveyed. Shareholders in the new Urban Corporations will continue receiving distributions from the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska as at-large shareholders. The bill explicitly protects existing Native Corporation entitlements and does not alter revenue-sharing ratios among Alaska Native corporations, ensuring that recognizing these five communities does not diminish benefits to other established corporations.

Key Provisions

1Authorizes Alaska Natives in Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell to organize as Urban Corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and enroll as shareholders with 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock each.
2Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey approximately 23,040 acres of federal surface land to each of the five Urban Corporations, with subsurface mineral rights conveyed to the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska.
3Requires the Secretary to complete land conveyances within two years of each Urban Corporation's incorporation, with authority to extend the deadline by up to one year per parcel for pending easement appeals.
4Establishes that shareholders in the new Urban Corporations shall continue receiving distributions from the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska and that the amendments do not alter revenue-sharing ratios or settlement agreements among existing Native Corporations.
5Withdraws the designated federal land from mining claims, mineral leasing, and other forms of entry or disposition until the land is conveyed to the Urban Corporations.

★ Why this matters

Five southeastern Alaska Native communities gain formal federal recognition and access to land and financial benefits that have been available to other Alaska Native communities for over 50 years. Shareholders in the new Urban Corporations will receive corporate dividends and own or control approximately 115,200 acres of federal land, creating economic assets and self-governance structures. The bill does not reduce benefits to existing Alaska Native corporations, as it explicitly protects revenue-sharing ratios and settlement agreements.

● Who this affects

Alaska Natives enrolled in the Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell are the primary beneficiaries, gaining shareholder status and land entitlements. The Department of the Interior must administer the enrollment process and land conveyances. The Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska receives subsurface mineral rights to the conveyed lands. Other Alaska Native corporations and shareholders are protected from any reduction in their existing distributions or entitlements. Federal agencies managing the withdrawn lands, including the U.S. Forest Service, must coordinate the transfer process.

Bill Text

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<DOC>

                                                 Union Calendar No. 499
119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 H. R. 41

                          [Report No. 119-579]

To provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native communities and 
    the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims 
                Settlement Act, and for other purposes.

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2025

  Mr. Begich introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

                             April 2, 2026

                Additional sponsor: Mr. Hurd of Colorado

                             April 2, 2026

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 
                                3, 2025]

                                 A BILL

 
To provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native communities and 
    the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims 
                Settlement Act, and for other purposes.

 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native 
Communities Recognition and Compensation Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to redress the omission of the 
southeastern Alaska communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, 
Tenakee, and Wrangell from eligibility under the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) by authorizing the Alaska 
Natives enrolled in the communities--
            (1) to form Urban Corporations for the communities of 
        Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell under the 
        Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); 
        and
            (2) to receive certain settlement land pursuant to that 
        Act.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL NATIVE CORPORATIONS.

    Section 16 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1615) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
and Wrangell, Alaska.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Native residents of each of the 
        Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and 
        Wrangell, Alaska, may organize as Urban Corporations.
            ``(2) Effect on entitlement to land.--Nothing in this 
        subsection affects any entitlement to land of any Native 
        Corporation established before the date of enactment of this 
        subsection pursuant to this Act or any oth…

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Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act

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