The U.S. Treasury Department has taken the stance that Alaska Native corporations are eligible for a share of $8 billion in coronavirus relief funding for tribes. The position outlined in court documents sets the stage for a court battle.
FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2020, file photo, a woman walks before dawn in Toksook Bay, Alaska, a mostly Yuip'ik village on the edge of the Bering Sea. Native American leaders are raising questions about how $8 billion in federal coronavirus relief tagged for tribes will be distributed, with some arguing that for-profit Alaska Native corporations shouldn't get a share of the funding.
U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., has scheduled a Friday hearing on the tribes’ request for a temporary restraining order to keep the Treasury Department from dispersing the funds until the judge settles the larger question of eligibility. The Treasury Department’s position that the corporations are eligible is in line with the Interior Department and the corporations themselves.
While they are not tribal governments, the corporations argue their roles are essential in supporting the more than 230 Alaska Native villages through employment opportunities, job training, scholarships, cultural preservation programs, land management and economic development. Lynch and Riyaz Kanji, an attorney representing the tribes, told the judge that the Treasury Department wouldn’t legally be barred from releasing the funding after Sunday.
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