Alaska Native Village Corporation Association and ANCSA Regional Association

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Posted: April 23, 2020

The Alaska Native Village Corporation Association (ANVCA) and the ANCSA Regional Association (ARA) are making their views known in the CARES Act lawsuit that’s headed to a major showdown in federal court.

After receiving consent from the parties in Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Mnuchin, the ANVCA and the ARA informed the court of the unique circumstances of the corporate system in Alaska. Through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, they said Alaska Native corporations are charged with providing programs and services to their shareholders much in the same manner as tribal governments.

“As one Alaskan representative testified at the tribal consultations on April 2, 2020, sometimes one Alaska Native organization does not have the funding to build or maintain a service while another may have the capabilities or infrastructure in place to administer it,” the ANVCA and ARA brief states. “While some communities, villages or tribes may be impoverished, the community of sharing in Alaska among Alaska Native people is incredible and profound, and ANCs play a major role.”

The Alaska Native Village Corporation Association represents the 200-plus Native village corporations. The ANCSA Regional Association represents the 13 Native regional corporations.

The ANVCA and the ARA are represented by Christine V. Williams and by J. Harrison Powell, II, attorneys based in Alaska.

The brief was filed ahead of a hearing in Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Mnuchin at 9:30am Eastern on April 23.

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