Inuit Arctic Business Alliance is a partnership between three Alaska native corporations, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, NANA Regional Corporation and Bering Straits Native Corporation. The alliance board is headed by Rex Rock. [1]
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting what is still the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in Alaska, as well as to stimulate economic development throughout Alaska.
Eskimo is an exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit and the Yupik of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related third group, the Aleut, who inhabit the Aleutian Islands, are generally excluded from the definition of Eskimo. The three groups share a relatively recent common ancestor, and speak related languages belonging to the family of Eskaleut languages.
Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow, is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the world and the northernmost in the United States, with nearby Point Barrow as the country's northernmost point.
Kotzebue or Qikiqtaġruk is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing the borough. The population of the city was 3,102 as of the 2020 census, down from 3,201 in 2010.
The Inupiat are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current communities include 34 villages across Iñupiat Nunaat, including seven Alaskan villages in the North Slope Borough, affiliated with the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; eleven villages in Northwest Arctic Borough; and sixteen villages affiliated with the Bering Straits Regional Corporation. They often claim to be the first people of the Kauwerak.
Iḷisaġvik College is a public tribal land-grant community college in Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Operated by the North Slope Borough, a home rule government of the Iñupiat, it is the only tribally controlled college in Alaska, and it is the northernmost accredited community college in the United States. The college is located within the boundaries of the North Slope. It is an 89,000-square-mile (230,000 km2) region of Arctic tundra. It is connected to the 414-mile (666 km) Dalton Highway only during the winter, by an ice road for local residents. The community can also be reached by plane.
The Alaska Native Regional Corporations were established in 1971 when the United States Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) which settled land and financial claims made by the Alaska Natives and provided for the establishment of 13 regional corporations to administer those claims.
NANA Regional Corporation, Inc. (NANA) is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of Alaska Native land claims. NANA was incorporated in Alaska on June 7, 1972. NANA is a for-profit corporation with a land base in the Kotzebue area in northwest Alaska. Its corporate office is in Kotzebue, Alaska. NANA's Alaska Native shareholders are of Inupiat descent.
The 13th Regional Corporation is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of Indigenous land claims. It was incorporated in Alaska on December 31, 1975. The 13th Regional Corporation is a for-profit corporation presently headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with approximately 5,500 Alaska Native shareholders of Eskimo, American Indian, and Aleut descent. Its original enrollment was of Alaska Natives who were no longer resident in Alaska.
Alaska Newspapers, Inc. (ANI) was, until August 2011, the publisher of six weekly Alaska newspapers, a quarterly magazine, and several special publications including a shopper, visitor's guides, and programs.
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, or ASRC, is one of 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. ASRC was incorporated in Alaska on June 22, 1972. Headquartered in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, with administrative offices in Anchorage, ASRC was as of 2017, a for-profit corporation with nearly 11,000 Alaska Native shareholders primarily of Inupiat Eskimo descent.
Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) was formed in 1972 as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) regional corporation for the Bering Straits and Norton Sound region. The corporation actively pursues responsible development of resources and other business opportunities. Through its subsidiaries, BSNC serves the federal government and commercial customers.
Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) is one of thirteen Alaska Native regional corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Cook Inlet Region, Inc. was incorporated in Alaska on June 8, 1972. Headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, CIRI is a for-profit corporation, and is owned by more than 7,300 Alaska Native shareholders of Athabascan and Southeast Indian, Inupiat, Yup’ik, Alutiiq and Aleut descent.
Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation, or UIC, is one of about 200 Alaska Native village corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation was incorporated in Alaska on April 19, 1973. Located in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation is a for-profit corporation whose Alaska Native shareholders are primarily of Iñupiat Eskimo descent.
Red Dog Airport is a private-use airport located at Red Dog Mine, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is privately owned by the NANA Regional Corporation. It has one asphalt paved runway designated 2/20 which measures 6,312 x 100 ft..
The Red Dog mine is a large zinc and lead mine in a remote region of Alaska, about 80 miles (130 km) north of Kotzebue, which is operated by the Canadian mining company Teck Resources on land owned by the NANA Regional Corporation. It is located within the boundaries of the Red Dog Mine census-designated place in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska.
NANA Development Corporation headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, was owned by NANA Regional Corporation—an Alaska Native Corporation formed under provisions of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA)—and functioned as the latter's business arm.
William L. "Willie" Hensley, also known by his Iñupiaq name Iġġiaġruk, is a semi-retired Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Alaska known for his work regarding Native Alaskan land rights. Hensley played a critical role in the creation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, one of the largest and most important land claims by indigenous peoples in U.S. history. Hensley went on to serve a term in the Alaska House of Representatives (1967–1970), and then a four-year term in the Alaska Senate (1971–1974). Hensley also served another year in the Alaska Senate from 1987 to 1988, when he was nominated by 6th Governor of Alaska Steve Cowper.
Tara MacLean Sweeney is an American businesswoman and former political appointee who served as assistant secretary of the interior for Native American affairs from July 2018 to January 2021. Sweeney is an Alaska Native and previously served in the cabinet of Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski. In 2022, she unsuccessfully ran to represent Alaska in the United States House of Representatives. The election was won by Democrat Mary Peltola.