The Prudhoe Bay oil discovery in 1967 expedited the resolution of the Alaska Native claim of occupied land. But would it have got this much attention or been dealt with in such a fair manner if not having so many big players involved?
American Indian/Alaska Native distribution map |
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act not only gave Alaska Natives financial compensation and a percentage of land they we're requesting, but it also provided them with some relief. It had to be nerve-racking to know that they could easily be pushed aside by the Federal government as did their lower-48 counterparts and get left with nothing.
13 Regional Corporations. tm112.community.uaf.edu |
Examine: Identify the Alaska Senate and House Districts in which you live. Identify the name and political party of your state senator and representative. Identify the type of local government you have. Identify the tribal government, if any, in your area, and if possible find out if it is an IRA or traditional council.
District of Wasilla. en.wikipedia.org |
Wasilla has a first-class classification that was incorporated in 1974 and has a basic form of local government with elected mayor (Verne Rupright) and 6 person city council (i.e., Kakus, Holler, Harris, Sullivan-Leonard, Woodruff, and Wall)
Senator Linda Menard. senate.legis.state.ak.us |
House of Rep Wes Keller. senate.legis.state.ak.us |
Evaluation: This was an extremely large amount of information to digest but provided great information about my local government. I learned that the City of Wasilla's website is easy to navigate to find information and that we're a first-class city. I wonder if all the people from Anchorage who consider us 'Valley Trash' know this?
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