The measures had been unanimously supported by Alaska’s congressional delegation.
Alaska's congressional delegation: U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. President Donald Trump signed into law two measures long sought by Alaska’s congressional delegation to benefit Alaska Native people.
The provisions, called the Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act and the Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act, had been repeatedly introduced by members of the Alaska congressional delegation since 2019, only to stall in Congress. But a Republican trifecta this year in the House, Senate and White House smoothed the way to final passage of the two measures, which had been supported by Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation.that Alaska Native village corporations hold some land in federal trust, unused, in case a new village corporation is created. This hasn’t happened in more than three decades.allows Alaska Natives who are “aged, blind or disabled” to exclude certain incomes when calculating their eligibility for federal benefits. The bills were reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Nick Begich earlier this year. They had previously been introduced by U.S. Reps. Don Young, also a Republican, and Mary Peltola, a Democrat, in the House, and by U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan in the Senate. “Now, Alaska Natives and vulnerable Alaskans can receive support without fear of losing essential benefits, and over 80 villages can finally move forward with building homes, improving infrastructure, and growing their economies,” Begich said in a statement.The passage of the bills was celebrated by Ben Mallott, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, who said in a statement that the laws remove “a barrier to community development and self-determination.” “The teamwork of our Alaska Congressional delegation reflects a shared commitment to advancing priorities important to Alaska Native people,” Mallott said. The bills passed the Senate in 2023 after they were introduced jointly by Murkowski and Sullivan, only to stall in the Republican-controlled House after Peltola — a Democrat — introduced them. This year’s versions of the bills were introduced in January by Begich and passed the House in February without notable opposition, becoming Begich’s“This has been a years-long effort to get these measures to the President’s desk. And I am proud to have led that effort and to see it through,” she said in a June statement. Begich has also introduced in the House two other bills related to the rights of Alaska Native people that are still working their way through the legislative process. One wouldThe latter passed the House on Monday, sending it next to the Senate for consideration. Without action from Congress, the time frame for Vietnam War veterans to apply for land allotments is set to conclude at the end of this year.With support from Murkowski and Sullivan, the allotment program was signed into law by Trump in 2019, with a five-year window to apply. But in the ensuing years, the number of allotments approvedthat it has received 500 applications for allotments and granted 44 of them. BLM reported it has not been able to contact 150 eligible veterans. “With roughly 150 veterans remaining to be notified, and the pace of allotment certifications slower than we hoped it would be, an extension has become necessary — especially as we push to open additional lands closer to where many of these veterans and their families actually live,” Murkowski said in a statement earlier this year.Iris Samuels is a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News focusing on state politics. She previously covered Montana for The AP and Report for America and wrote for the Kodiak Daily Mirror. Contact her at isamuels@adn.com.
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