Module IX: Governance

Essential Question:  Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 -  Discuss two ways that this legislation has impacted Alaska, and two ways it has impacted Alaska Natives.


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 Federal government already had tarnished it's reputation with Native Americans with how they we're treated in the lower-48 so I think they did a good job by taking advantage of making things right.


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

This was a win for the oil companies because they could now begin the construction of the pipeline, the Federal and state governments, because they would be getting tax and royalty revenue, the Alaska Natives, because they now legally had land and a nice chunk of change, the large amount of people about to get employed to construct the pipeline, and the surrounding communities that would benefit from a growing economy.


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 is in house district 14 and senate district G which extends all the way up to Talkeetna and has a population of roughly 15,000 people.  We are represented by senator Linda Menard and house of representative Wes Keller, both republican.  

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?  


3 Blogs:

1. Gary had a tremendous amount of information but presented it in a fast read.  Good job.
2. I liked the photo's and cartoon in Niki's blog.
3. Brenda went above and beyond on this particular blog.  The layout, content, and photos we're exceptional.  Awesome job.