Judge bars Alaska tribal court from jurisdiction over corporation

Friday, July 13, 2012  

A federal judge blocked an Alaska tribe from asserting jurisdiction over Koniag Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation.

The Native Village of Karluk, a federally recognized tribe, is seeking to de-merge from Koniag as part of a long-running dispute that dates to the 1980s. The tribe wants the land that it conveyed to the corporation returned, according to a lawsuit filed in tribal court.

Koniag responded with a lawsuit in federal court. A judge agreed that the tribe lacks jurisdiction over the corporation.

"The authority of most Alaska Native tribes is significantly more circumscribed than that of other tribes.," the decision stated.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Koniag, Inc. v. Kanam .

Get the Story:
Federal Judge Blocks Karluk's Efforts to Sue Koniag through Tribal Court (Alaska Native News 7/12)

Alaska Native corporation disputes tribal court jurisdiction