Wrangellite Richard Rinehart, a member of the Sealaska Board of Directors, speaks to the local contingent of shareholders during a meeting on Monday, May 20 at the SNO Building. Rinehart was appointed to the board after the death of Clarence Jackson of Kake.
(AP) JUNEAU – A U.S. House of Representatives committee Thursday will hear two different Sealaska land bills. Both bills relate to advancing the finalizations of Sealaska’s land conveyances required by the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
“This legislation will ensure that Sealaska can continue to meet the cultural, social and economic needs of its shareholders,” Rep. Don Young (R-AK) wrote in a statement on Monday. “From a jobs aspect, allowing Sealaska to select its remaining entitlement lands from outside the existing, very limited land pool would help all of the residents of rural and Alaska Native communities in the region.”
H.R. 740 is titled “Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization and Jobs Protection Act” and was sponsored by Rep. Young.
A similar bill is out of committee in the U.S. Senate and awaits markup.
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