Prompt: “The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and the Native corporation system have been good for Alaska Natives.”
The complexity of the ANCSA was good to Alaska Natives for the most part because it was a fair settlement for them. Since the land was used, a total of 44 million acres, ($1 billion dollars) led to economic benefits for white Alaskans as well for Natives. That all Natives that were residents for of Alaska had the benefits to qualify for money from the Alaska Permanent Fund and contributing %25 of all oil-land profits. The development of natural resources, improvements on housing, transportation, employment opportunities, and establishing business enterprises were also beneficial to the economic benefits of the ANCSA. In other words, this added value to the economy of the state of Alaska, the federal government, and the private sector.
The downfall of the ANCSA was that corporations were not effective for business development because of the lack of local diverse investment opportunities. As well as there was not enough capital available for long-term and low-return investments. Recognition of aboriginal land rights in Alaska was also a departure from American Indian Policy on other parts of the U.S. Also, in the early 1900’s, Natives from the southeast Alaska were concerned with non-native land because of changing traditional fishing and hunting areas. And with the support of non-Native Alaskans was an important factor leading to the settlement of Alaska Native Land claims because without the support of the non-Native Alaskans, the government and other officials such as the Secretary of the Interior had already addressed the settlement to be more favorable to the Natives. Public events in Georgia were also opposed to putting pressure on the government to justify the settlement.
In response to your peers, reflect on their revised statement. Describe the ways you find it shows the complexity of the event, and provide a suggestion for how they can further develop the statement or the supporting examples.