FROM THE ARCHIVE

Bill transfers islands to Aleuts

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JUNE 28, 2000

The House approved a bill that completes the transfer of the Pribilof Islands to Aleut Natives in Alaska.

Two hundred years ago, the Aleuts were moved to the Islands by the Russian government, who owned Alaska at the time. They were put to work harvesting fur seals and when the United States bought Alaska, they continued to work for the US, earning the government millions more dollars than what the they paid for the state: $7.2 million.

The bill authorizes more than $60 million in federal spending and grants to complete environmental cleanups, build a solid waste management facility and make other improvements on St. George and St. Paul islands. It also relieves the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from responsibility of the islands.

Get the Story:
House oks Pribilof funds, transfer to Aleuts (The Anchorage Daily News 6/28)

Relevant Links:
The Pribilof Project, from the NOAA: www.ecs.noaa.gov/projMan/pribilof.html
Map of the Pribilof Islands, from the NOAA: nmml.afsc.noaa.gov/AlaskaEcosystems/nfshome/pribilof.htm