To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, is and shall be recognized as an eligible Native village under that Act, and for other purposes.

To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, is and shall be recognized as an eligible Native village under that Act, and for other purposes. 1. Alexander Creek Village recognition The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1601 43. Alexander Creek Village recognition (a) Recognition of the Village of Alexander Creek Subject to the limitations of this section and notwithstanding section 1432(d) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act ( Public Law 96–487 (b) Definitions For the purposes of this section, the following terms apply: (1) The term agency (A) any instrumentality of the United States; (B) any element of an agency; and (C) any wholly owned or mixed-owned corporation of the United States Government identified in chapter 91 (2) The term Alexander Creek (3) The term Region (c) Organization of Alexander Creek As soon as practicable after enactment of this section, Alexander Creek shall cause to be filed— (1) any amendments to its corporate charter in the State of Alaska necessary to convert from a Native group to a Native Village corporation; and (2) if necessary, any amendments to its corporate charter and governing business documents that fulfill the terms of the agreement authorized under this Act. (d) Negotiations Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall open negotiations with Alexander Creek and, not later than 13 months after the date of the enactment of this section, reach an agreement with Alexander Creek to fairly and equitably settle Alexander Creek’s aboriginal land claims and any other claims of Alexander Creek against the United States. An agreement under this section shall be in approximate value parity with those of other Alaska Native Village Corporations, notwithstanding Alexander Creek’s prior status as a Group Corporation. The Secretary shall effectuate such agreement under the authority in this section, other existing authorities, and in coordination with the Administrator with respect to surplus property to be transferred to Alexander Creek pursuant to such agreement. Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 549(a) of title 40, United States Code, Alexander Creek is hereby considered both a State State agency (e) Shareholder participation Alexander Creek shall notify each member of the Native village recognized under this section that, upon the effective date of this section, such members shall cease to receive benefits from the Region as at-large shareholders pursuant to section 7(m), and that all future resource payments from the Region shall be made to the Village Corporation pursuant to section 7(j). The Region shall not be liable under any State, Federal, or local law, or under State or Federal common law, for damages arising out of or related to the cessation of payments to such individuals under section 7(m) pursuant to this section. (f) Construction Except as provided in this section with respect to Alexander Creek, nothing in this section shall be construed to modify or amend land conveyance entitlements or conveyance agreements between the Region and village corporations other than Alexander Creek in such region, nor between the Region and the Federal Government, nor between any such parties and the State of Alaska. (g) Construction regarding current Alexander Creek land Nothing in this section shall be construed to reduce the land entitlement to which Alexander Creek became entitled as a Group Corporation, including the land selected by and conveyed to Alexander Creek at the time of enactment of this section. .

Summary: This bill recognizes the Alaska Native group corporation of Alexander Creek as an Alaska Native village corporation eligible for certain land and benefits. Alexander Creek must file any amendments to its corporate charter that are necessary to convert from a Native group corporation to a Native village corporation. The Department of the Interior must open negotiations with Alexander Creek to settle Alexander Creek's aboriginal land claims and any other claims it has against the United States. Alexander Creek must notify its members that (1) they will cease to receive benefits from Cook Inlet Region Incorporated (CIRI) individually as at-large shareholders, and (2) all future resource payments from CIRI will be made to the village. CIRI is not liable under any state, federal, or local law for damages related to that payment cessation.