45th annual Sealaska meeting to be held in Wrangell this weekend

For the first time since 1995, Wrangell will be hosting the annual shareholders’ meeting for Sealaska Corporation this weekend.

Formed in 1972 after the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act had been adopted the previous year, Sealaska has become the largest of 13 regional corporations subsequently created in the state. The corporation represents 22,000 Native shareholders from among the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples, of which 254 live in Wrangell.

Headquartered in Juneau, Sealaska manages 650,000 acres of tribal lands and makes investments to enhance its resources. Dividends based on the value of its Marjorie V. Young Permanent Fund and a percentage of the corporation’s net earnings are then paid out biannually to its shareholders. These dividends provide a stable source of income to communities and increase economic opportunity in the process. Over the past 10 years, the corporation has distributed around $3.85 million to Wrangell shareholders in this fashion.

The organization’s aims are also cultural in nature, and Sealaska programs support the arts and traditions of its member peoples. Its carving program, for example, partners with the One People Canoe Society for paddle-making workshops, while cedar milled from Sealaska holdings have been contributed to the renovations at the clan house on Chief Shakes Island concluded in 2013. A variety of other programs and shareholder benefits promote education, workforce development, and quality of life improvements for elders and youth.

Sealaska has also advocated for the five “landless” communities excluded under ANCSA, which includes Wrangell, Petersburg, Ketchikan, Haines and Tenakee Springs. It has lobbied for amendments in the House and Senate that would rectify the omission, such as House Resolution 229 and Senate Bill 1481 still being considered.

Scheduled for Saturday at the Nolan Center, this year’s shareholders’ meeting will be the corporation’s 45th annual. The 2018 meeting is scheduled to start at 1 p.m., but a whole slate of programming is scheduled for the day, beginning at 10 a.m.

A reception welcoming the wider public will be held beforehand, on Friday evening at 6 p.m. Featuring refreshments and a dance presentation, the reception is presented as a good opportunity for non-shareholders to learn more about Sealaska, and for community stakeholders to mingle and network.