**Statement of**

**Michael Nedd, Assistant Director**

**Minerals, Realty and Resource Protection**

**Bureau of Land Management**

**U.S. Department of the Interior**

**Before the**

**Committee on Natural Resources**

**U.S. House of Representatives**

**on**

**H.R. 2445, Alexander Creek Village Recognition Act**

**H.R. 3350, Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act**

**H.R. 3560, Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization Act**

**and**

**H.R. 3351, Native American Challenge Demonstration Project Act**

**November 14, 2007**

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to
provide the Department of the Interior's (Department's) views on H.R.
2445, the Alexander Creek Village Recognition Act; H.R. 3350, the Alaska
Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act; and H.R. 3560, the Southeast
Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization Act. You have also asked the
Department to provide its views on H.R. 3351, the Native American
Challenge Demonstration Project Act of 2007. As this legislation would
establish a new program within the Department of Commerce, the
Department defers to Commerce as to its position on the legislation and
administration of the program. At your request, however, we are
providing a brief overview on economic development in Indian Country. My
statement will begin with the three Alaska bills.

**[[H.R.2445, Alexander Creek Village Recognition
Act]{.underline}]{.smallcaps}**

As discussed in more detail below, we understand the continuing desire
of Alexander Creek, Inc., to be recognized as a Native village. However,
this legislation would effectively overturn the long-standing
settlement, codified in statute, which resolved the eligibility of
Alexander Creek, and would throw into question the finalization of land
entitlement claims in southcentral Alaska. For these reasons, the
Department opposes enactment of H.R. 2445.

**[Background]{.underline}**

Congress enacted the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971
to resolve aboriginal land claims in Alaska. Through ANCSA, Native
claims in Alaska were extinguished in exchange for 44 million acres of
land and \$962.5 million in compensation. ANCSA established specific
entitlements for allocating this settlement among Native-owned regional
corporations, Native villages and Native groups. Native villages
(required to have a Native population of 25 or more, as determined by a
1970 census) received greater entitlements than Native groups. Native
villages were entitled to a minimum of 69,120 acres from the public
domain. In contrast, communities determined to have fewer than 25
Natives could be certified as Native groups and were entitled to a
maximum of 7,680 acres.

ANCSA listed nearly 200 Native villages and directed the Secretary of
the Interior to determine if additional Native communities qualified as
villages. Alexander Creek was not listed as a village in ANCSA. It
applied for eligibility as an unlisted village but its application was
contested by the State of Alaska, the Mantanuska-Susitna Borough and
other parties.

Thus began a long period of litigation over Alexander Creek's
eligibility as a Native village that was ultimately resolved in a
Stipulated Agreement in 1979 and codified in Section 1432 of the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). In signing this
Stipulated Agreement, Alexander Creek withdrew its application to be
recognized as a village, accepted certification as a Native group, and
agreed that the lands conveyed under the 1979 Agreement "constitute a
full and final settlement" of its land entitlement under ANCSA. The
Department has fulfilled its responsibilities to Alexander Creek under
the agreement.

**[H.R. 2445]{.underline}**

H.R. 2445 would legislatively designate the Alexander Creek Native group
as a Native village under the provisions of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (ANCSA). The bill would entitle Alexander Creek to the
appraised current fair market value of approximately 61,440 acres it had
provisionally selected in the early 1970s, pending the outcome of its
original application to be recognized as a Native village. The appraised
value of these lands would determine the amount of a Treasury account to
be established for Alexander Creek, which would use the account to
acquire lands in Alaska offered at public sale. The bill also directs
the Secretary to seek a land exchange with the State of Alaska or the
Matanuska-Susitna Borough to acquire surface estate lands for Alexander
Creek near its home area. The bill provides a mechanism for reducing the
value of the Alexander Creek account for lands acquired for Alexander
Creek through an exchange.

H.R. 2445 would overturn the settlement agreement accepted by Alexander
Creek in 1979 and codified in ANILCA. The resolution of Alexander
Creek's status as a Native group in ANILCA allowed the land entitlement
process throughout southcentral Alaska's Cook Inlet region to proceed.
The process is now in a late stage of implementation. Changing the
status of Alexander Creek could undercut the basis on which village and
regional entitlements are addressed, fundamentally disrupting this
lengthy and complex land entitlement process. H.R. 2445 would establish
a troubling precedent. We therefore oppose the legislation.

**[[H.R. 3350, Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity
Act]{.underline}]{.smallcaps}**

H.R. 3350 raises a number of serious policy, management, and technical
concerns, and it would give rise to new issues of fairness with respect
to other Alaska Natives and other Vietnam veterans. For these reasons,
and because H.R. 3350 would authorize a disruptive expansion of the
Native Allotment program in Alaska, the Department opposes this
legislation.

**[Background]{.underline}**

The Native Allotment Act of 1906, as amended, gave the Secretary of the
Interior authority to convey up to 160 acres of non-mineral land to
individual Alaska Natives. Altogether about 10,000 Alaska Natives filed
allotment applications for more than 16,000 parcels. Over 80 percent of
the applications were filed with the BLM following an extensive outreach
and assistance program carried out from 1969 through 1971.

The 1906 Allotment Act was repealed with the enactment of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971, but with a savings
provision for individual allotment claims then pending before the
Department. Certain Alaska Native veterans of the Vietnam War may have
missed an opportunity to apply for an allotment because they were
serving in the armed forces immediately prior to the 1971 repeal of the
Allotment Act and enactment of ANCSA. In 1998, the Alaska Native Vietnam
Veterans Allotment Act was enacted to redress any unfairness that may
have resulted.

The Department supports the principle of equitable treatment of Alaska
Native Vietnam veterans, and the BLM has made every effort at fairness
in implementing the 1998 Act. The deadline for Alaska Native Vietnam
veterans to file an application for an allotment was January 31, 2002.
The BLM received applications from 740 individuals claiming a total of
1,010 parcels by that deadline, and has taken action on these
applications. Of the original 1,010 parcels claimed, 708 (about 70
percent) have been rejected either because the applicant was not
eligible for an allotment under the terms of the 1998 Act or the land
claimed was not available for conveyance under the terms of the Act.
Nine (9) certificates of allotment have been issued, and 90 parcels have
been approved for conveyance.

The processing of the remaining 203 parcels requires more information
from the applicant before BLM will know whether the applicant has met
the requirements of the 1998 Act. In many cases, despite repeated
requests from the BLM, supporting documentation is still needed from the
applicants. In cases where additional information could result in
approval of the allotment, BLM makes every effort to obtain that
information before taking adverse action on the claim.

**[H.R. 3350]{.underline}**

H.R. 3350 would allow any Alaska Native Vietnam-era (August 5, 1964,
through May 7, 1975) veteran who has not yet received a Native allotment
to select up to 2 parcels of land totaling no more than 160 acres. If
the veteran is deceased or dies before filing an application, an heir
may apply for an allotment on the veteran's behalf.

The legislation would repeal the BLM's regulations that implemented the
1998 Act and require the Secretary to publish new regulations within one
year. Native veterans would have three years after the Secretary issues
final regulations to file their applications. Native veteran applicants
could choose any vacant Federal land in the State of Alaska located
outside of the TransAlaska Pipeline corridor.

The Department testified in great detail on nearly identical legislation
(H.R. 3148) in the 107^th^ Congress. As noted above, while H.R. 3350
aims for fairness, it raises a number of serious policy, management, and
technical concerns, and it would give rise to new issues of fairness
with respect to other Alaska Natives and other Vietnam veterans. H.R.
3350 goes far beyond the original 'missed opportunity' rationale and has
the appearance of creating a bonus program that awards land for military
service only to certain veterans. Provisions of the legislation appear
to create inequities between Alaska Native Vietnam veterans and Natives
who did not serve in the military by allowing veterans to choose land
that was not available to other allotment applicants. The deadlines for
approval and conveyances give applicants under H.R. 3350 preferential
treatment not afforded to other Alaska Natives. The bill authorizes
compensatory acreage for Native corporations that voluntarily give up
land for Native veteran allotments but not for the State of Alaska.

We oppose H.R. 3350 because it authorizes new allotment claims 36 years
after repeal of the 1906 Native Allotment Act. The legislation negates
important compromises reached in the passage of the 1998 Act, throws out
years of adjudication under that Act, and disrupts settled land use
arrangements under ANCSA and ANILCA. It undermines the goals of the
Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act to finalize land entitlements
under ANCSA, the Statehood Act, and existing 1906 allotment
applications, and even unconveyed Native veteran claims. Finally, it
would create additional trust assets and also raises the possibility of
Constitutional challenge as to whether it may be an impermissible
preference. Finally, the legislation undermines the processing of
pending Alaska Native Veteran applications that are nearing issuance of
certificate of allotments

**[[H.R. 3560, Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization
Act]{.underline}]{.smallcaps}**

The Department supports the goal of completing ANCSA entitlements as
soon as possible so that Alaska Native corporations may have the full
economic benefit of their intended land base. This includes the
entitlements due to Sealaska Corporation (Sealaska). However, we do not
support H.R. 3560 for the reasons detailed below,, including the
undesirable precedents it may establish as well as its potential impact
on our ability to complete ANCSA entitlements, not only in Southeast
Alaska but across the entire state.

**[Background]{.underline}**

ANCSA established a framework under which Alaska Natives could form
private corporations to select and receive title to 44 million acres of
public land in Alaska and receive payment of \$962.5 million in
settlement of their aboriginal claim to land in the State. Sealaska is
one of twelve regional corporations formed under ANCSA to receive land
benefits. Sealaska has not received title to all of the acres currently
allocated to it under Sec. 14(h)(8) of ANCSA and the final allocation of
acreage to Sealaska under Sec. 14(h)(8) of ANCSA has not yet been
determined.

**[H.R. 3560]{.underline}**

As noted above, we support finalizing entitlements under ANCSA, but H.R.
3560 does not provide a path to finalization of Sealaska's ANCSA
entitlement, and it creates new categories of selections not available
to other regional corporations. Moreover, because the bill would
authorize the selection of a number of individual small parcels, as
opposed to larger blocks like the current selections, they will likely
take longer and be more costly to process than Sealaska's current
selections.

We are also concerned about the deadlines for conveyance included in
H.R. 3560. While BLM-Alaska has worked hard to meet immediate specific
economic needs of Native corporations when those specific needs are
identified, we are concerned that the deadlines do not provide
sufficient time to identify third party interests and easements and to
complete the other necessary adjudicatory and survey tasks needed to
assure that the quality of title issued to Sealaska is not compromised.
We believe that any perceived advantage to Sealaska that may come from
such deadlines will be outweighed by the hard feelings such preferential
treatment could provoke in the Native community outside of Southeast
Alaska.

More significantly, however, we note that ANCSA did not allow for
selection and conveyance of cultural sites within National Park System
(NPS) units in Alaska. This legislation would allow such selections and
conveyances. Section 3(b)(2)(A)(i) of H.R. 3560, which identifies sites
for selection and conveyance to Sealaska, includes 12 sites located in
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and one site in Klondike Gold
Rush National Historical Park. The legislation also provides for later
identification of additional sites with broad cultural associations that
could be selected and conveyed from these units, as well as from Sitka
National Historical Park. Moreover, the bill provides for the economic
development of the conveyed lands and removes the usual protections
afforded cultural sites.

This legislation would significantly impact Glacier Bay National Park
and Preserve and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park by removing
valuable cultural and natural sites from NPS ownership and management,
transferring them to private ownership, removing national historic
protection provisions, and opening them to economic development. H.R.
3560 could also result in similar impacts to Sitka National Historical
Park. For these reasons, we strongly oppose these provisions of H. R.
3560.

As noted above, we support the goal of completing ANCSA entitlements as
soon as possible and are working hard to ensure that process comes to a
successful conclusion.

**[[H.R. 3551, The Native American Challenge Demonstration Project Act
of 2007]{.underline}]{.smallcaps}**

As noted above, H.R. 3551 would establish a new program within the
Department of Commerce. For this reason, we defer to Commerce as to a
position on H.R. 3551 and administration of such a program. At your
request, however, we are including an overview on economic development
issues in tribal communities. This information updates and supplements
testimony provided to the Committee by Dr. Robert Middleton, Director of
the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, at a September 19,
2007, hearing on Diversifying Native Economies.

The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) works to
promote economic development, increase business knowledge in tribal
communities, increase jobs and businesses, broaden access to capital
investment, and develop Indian energy and mineral resources. To reach
performance milestones in Fiscal Year 2008, IEED is guided by
recommendations from tribal leaders, who have asked that we concentrate,
among other things, on---

-   developing a better legal infrastructure in Indian Country;

-   providing more funding for community and economic planning;

-   continuing to provide training for business and marketplace skills;

-   funding financial literacy training at the earliest educational
    stages; and

-   offering strategic advice on setting up and operating businesses.

As noted at the September 19^th^ hearing, last May IEED partnered with
NCAI and other federal agencies and organizations to orchestrate the
National Native American Economic Policy Summit in Phoenix. Since then,
IEED has joined with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to
publish the recommendations offered by the Summit's tribal and federal
representatives to improve Native American economies. We take these
recommendations seriously because we believe that no real progress can
be made in building strong Indian economies until tribes themselves
identify and undertake to surmount obstacles to economic growth in their
communities. Actions that we are taking to address issues raised in
these recommendations are discussed below.

**[Creating a Strong Legal Infrastructure]{.underline}**

Summit participants made it clear that economic development in Indian
Country is not possible without the rule of law embodied in commercial
codes that secure collateral and allow the free flow of credit between
persons inside and outside the reservation. As a result, IEED has funded
preparation and adoption of tribal uniform commercial code sections
dealing with secured transactions and development of a curriculum to
train tribal uniform commercial code administrators. Later this year, we
will be co-sponsoring with the Tulalip Tribes of Washington a conference
on how tribes can adopt codes to protect the economic value of their
cultural patrimony, including intellectual property such as flora,
fauna, and oral traditions.

**[Planning for Progress]{.underline}**

We are also working to advance thinking on comprehensive reservation
planning, which allows tribes to make a realistic inventory of their
energy, transportation, water, housing, telecommunications and other
core infrastructure needs and determine the means for satisfying those
needs while establishing economic autonomy and creating jobs. On October
5-6, 2007 in Tempe, Arizona, we hosted with NCAI, the University of New
Mexico, and Arizona State University a tribal community comprehensive
planning conference. A white paper from the conference will be available
shortly.

IEED has also funded long-term, strategic economic development planning,
and has worked to link tribes with advice from some of the most
distinguished business schools in the United States. Last year, the
Native American Business Development Institute (NABDI) arranged
feasibility studies for tribes on potential economic development
opportunities ranging from a business park, a security business, a
medical supply enterprise, and an upland bird hunting operation, to new
uses for a dormant tribal wellness/recreation center, and a greenhouse
heated by woody biomass. We expect NABDI to undertake similar studies
this fiscal year.

We are also now collecting data for the Labor Force Report, which was
previously compiled by the BIA. The report, with an expected release of
November 2009, will provide valuable information on employment rates,
workforce participation, and economic development on reservations.

**[Training for Success]{.underline}**

We have sponsored the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University to
train executives of Indian-owned firms in intensive, one-day and
three-day workshops which teach Native American business men and women
how to develop and improve business management skills; establish and run
a business; maintain accounting records; assess performance; create a
high-performing business enterprise; and expand existing operations.
Participants learn about implementing company strategy, aligning
operations to create customer value, operations strategy, analyzing and
refining key business processes, prioritizing process improvements, and
effective management techniques.

To penetrate the "digital divide" affecting remote reservations, we have
been working with the Native American Chamber of Commerce (NACC),
SeniorNet, and IBM to place IBM-donated computer equipment and software
and provide high-technology training at various reservation locations,
called Achievement Centers. The equipment is being used for employment
training, job searches, internet commerce, home-based businesses and
many other purposes. The first Achievement Center was dedicated at
Blackfeet Nation in September 2006, with others established for the
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Indians at Cass Lake, Minnesota and the Tigua
Tribe at the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in Socorro, Texas. An Achievement
Center for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians in Houlton, Maine,
should open this spring.

IEED also sponsors workshops to train Native Americans how to form SBA
8(a) businesses and take advantage of federal procurement opportunities,
including those made possible by the Buy-Indian Act. Within the
Department, IEED has encouraged government charge card purchasers to
"buy Indian" and we have set up a data base of qualified Native American
vendors to facilitate purchases from Department procurement officers.

IEED has also planned and funded a one-year Entrepreneurial Education
Pilot Project in FY 2008 for students at seven reservation high schools.
We have partnered with the Bureau of Indian Education and the National
Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which last month trained
teachers at each of the pilot schools.

**[Providing Strategic Advice]{.underline}**

In 2008, IEED will distribute a Tribal Business Structure Handbook to
all tribes. Developed in partnership with the Tulalip Tribes, this
handbook will serve as a primary reference for entrepreneurs
contemplating creation of a business enterprise. It will provide the key
factors to be considered when structuring a business or project, and is
intended to aid tribes in determining whether business formation should
occur under tribal, state, or federal law and which structure will work
best to protect tribal assets, preserve tribal sovereignty, minimize tax
liability, and maximize the use of incentives available for tribal
economic development.

**[[Conclusion]{.underline}]{.smallcaps}**

For the reasons stated above, the Department opposes H.R. 2445, The
Alexander Creek Village Recognition Act, and H.R. 3350, the Alaska
Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act, and does not support H.R.
3560, the Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization Act. We
defer to the Department of Commerce for its position on H.R. 3551.

Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony. I will be glad
to answer any questions that you or Members of the Committee may have.