Mapping Needs of Alaska Native Organizations

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Mapping Needs of Alaska Native Organizations

• Charles Parker
• President/CEO
• Alaska Village Initiatives

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Alaska Village Initiatives (formerly CEDC), a
self-supporting corporation organized in 1968 by
and for Rural Alaskans, promotes the economic
well-being of Rural Alaskans through economic
development assistance, networking, advocacy, and
education.
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Alaska Village Initiatives

• Statewide 501(c)3 organization
• Members include Federally Recognized Tribes,
  Alaska Native Corporations, and regional
  organizations
• Formed as a Community Development Corporation
  (CDC) by President Johnson during the War on
  Poverty

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Alaska Natives

• Among Native American Tribes, Alaska Natives are
  unique in their socio-political structure
• Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act divided our
  economic structure and landholdings from our
  political structure
• December of 1971, each Native received 100 shares
  in a village corporation, and 100 shares in the
  regional corporation

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Unique Structure

• Each native was also a member of a federally
  recognized tribe, which provides services,
  advocates for members, and serves as the tribal
  government
• ANCSA entitled the corporations to 44 million
  acres, and extinguished further land claim rights
  to the rest of the state for a one time payment
  of about 1 Billion 3/acre
• Land conveyance still in process today, with most
  of the surface holdings to the village
  corporations and the subsurface to the regional.

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Tribes non-profits

• Each Native in 1971 therefore received shares in
  a village corporation and a regional corporation,
  and was also a member of a tribe and a regional
  tribal consortium.
• The tribes and corporations are completely
  separate, though some work together and often
  they share Board members/Council members
• Tribes have a political and social mandate,
  whereas the corporations have a mandate to create
  a profit

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Tribes vs. Corporations

• First, there is a philosophical difference
  between the 2 different structures and mandates
• Second, there is a growing difference in
  membership Tribes enroll descendents and
  Natives moving into the village Corporations
  (ANCs) originally kept their initial shareholder
  base, many no longer living in the village
• Tribes have the mandate to meet the subsistence
  need of the tribe, but the corporations have a
  disincentive to manage lands for subsistence uses
  (disproportionate dividend issue)

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A unique challenge

• This challenging socio-political landscape is the
  foundation for the ANCs Americas largest
  private landowner as a group
• Still only own about 12 of the state
• All other private land ownership 1 of the state

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The Challenge

• Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the US
  combined
• Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign
  nations in the world
• Larger than the next three largest states,
  combined (Texas, California, Montana)
• Larger than the 23 smallest states combined

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Mapping Challenges

• More than 3 million lakes
• 16,000 square miles of glaciers on land
• Bering Glacier complex alone is 2,250 square
  miles
• 1/6 of the U.S. forest resources
• 1.1 residents per square mile
• 57 of our communities do not lie within a
  borough (county), many with no city government
• 5 distinct major Native cultural groups

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Alaska - The most challenges, the most resource
and energy potential

• BUT, the least amount of imagery mapping
  information is available

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Private Native Lands in Alaska 44 million acres
95 prime wildlife habitat
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Why do we need better mapping?

• Resource Development for or against, he who
  has the best maps wins
• Timber
• Coal
• Gold (Pebble, etc.)
• Zinc, Copper, etc.
• Uranium
• Sand and Gravel
• Oil Gas development

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Needs

• Agriculture, including subsistence management
  and habitat conservation enhancement
• Traditional agriculture potato, hay, dairy
• Hunting
• Fishing
• Berry picking
• Seaweed harvesting
• Conservation support for USDA programs on
  private lands current EQIP WHIP projects with
  ANCs

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Needs

• Land management
• Trespass encroachment
• Development
• Right of way issues
• Continued land conveyances
• Infrastructure development
• Roads
• Water sewer
• Economic development

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Wildfire fighting fuel reduction
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Alternative Renewable energy development

• Biomass
• Wind
• Geothermal
• Hydro river, tidal
• Solar

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What we are working with

• Google Earth the current new technology for
  management decisions
• Fast easy Accessible Cost effective
• NOT ACCURATE ENOUGH!
• AVI A Village corporation are digitizing
  conventional maps and land documents, accessing
  them through Google Earth as a visual interface
  tool
• Not a permanent or perfect solution
• Alaska Needs Better mapping and imagery
• For Private, Federal State Landowners

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