58 Members of House of Rep - Sign Letter Against Long Overdue Native Land Settlement

Fifty-Eight members of the House of Representatives succumbed to the media blitz put on by environmental special interest groups who would deny the Indigenous-owned corporation/people from receiving land entitled to them for settlement of their Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act legislation (ANCSA). This land settlement would have fulfilled the promise from Congress over from almost forty years ago.

These 58 members of Congress signed a letter that said Sealaska receiving this land would negatively impact the environment. Sealaska rightfully says the letter is "misleading" and "ill-informed."

If this legislation is passed, the bill would maintain and create jobs, while preserving old-growth trees. It will also put the land in the hands of the rightful indigenous caretakers. The Tongass National Forest is land that is made available for Native selection. Sealaska owners are the indigenous people of that region - therefore -- Let the People have the land that should be rightfully theirs. It is a no-brainer.

One member of Congress who see's clearly through the smoke, wrote a letter to get accurate information to the public and Congress. To read this letter find the link at this site: Don Young's letter.

United States Representative Don Young Says its Time to Seal the Deal Congress Made Sealaska 39 Years Ago!

At the House Natural Resources Committee hearing today, the United States Representative Don Young, with both passion and conviction, reminded the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that the Native-owned Sealaska corporation is entitled to their land promised to them in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) by the United States Congress 39 YEARS AGO! The Tongass Forest is the land of Sealaska's forefathers. It is a perfect selection for this Native entity.

Young valiantly challenged BLM to support Sealaska and cut the red tape. He underscored this with the fact that the United States of America has been through seven Presidents and seven Secretaries of the Interior since this legislation was enacted.

Representative Young did not speak to BLM out of something he researched and then "cut and pasted" into a speech for the hearing. He did not need anyone to prepare talking points for him. Young has lived with and witnessed the intense struggle of the Native Americans indigenous to Alaska. Watching Young valiantly stand-up for what Congress promised the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Indians of Sealaska 39 Years ago reminded many proud Alaskans of why they elected him.

Like a lot of past and present citizens in Southeast Alaska, many of Sealaska executives and directors, hunt and fish on Sealaska land. They are not going to turn it into Mars as the XYZ Society would have you believe. They love the land. It is their life blood. Sealaska is not a cold hard corporation. Because Sealaska is a conscientious Native corporation there is almost a biological element to the corporation that brings balance not just to the books - but to the land. Support S. 881 and H.R. 2099.

As a society it is time evolve. As a society it is time to grow up. As a society it is time to honor our promises to Native Americans. Sealaska has a right to fulfill their land settlement that was agreed upon and promised to them 39 years ago. It doesn't matter if elite special interest groups like it or not. When a deal is made, a deal should be honored by an honorable country. As a person of honor, as a society of honor -- it is time to seal the deal for Sealaska!

Brenda Dukart

Watch Representative Young's admonishment to BLM at the hearing.