An Act to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
PL 95-178 (H.R.8499), enacted 11/15/1977

PUBLIC LAW 95-178—NOV. 15, 1977 
91 STAT. 1369 
Public Law 95-178 
95th Congress 
An Act 
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 16(b) 
of the Act of December 18, 1971 (85 Stat. 688, 705), as amended (43 
U.S.C. 1615), is further amended by deleting the last sentence thereof. 
SEC. 2. Section 14(h) (8) of the Act of December 18, 1971 (85 Stat. 
688, 705), is amended by designating the existing paragraph as para-
graph "(A)" and adding the following new paragraph (B) : 
"(B) Such allocation as the Regional Corporation for southeastern 
Alaska shall receive under this paragraph shall be selected and con-
veyed from lands that were withdrawn by subsections 16(a) and 16 
(d) and not selected by the Village Corporations in southeastern 
Alaska; except lands on Admiralty Island in the Angoon withdrawal 
area and, without the consent of the Governor of the State of Alaska 
or his delegate, lands in the Saxman and Yakutat withdrawal areas 
are not available for selection or conveyance under this paragraph.". 
SEC. 3. (a) Subsection (b) of section 12 of the Act of January 2, 
1976 (Public Law 94-204), as amended by the Act of October 4,1976 
(Public Law 94-456), is hereby amended to add at the end thereof 
the following new paragraphs: 
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, if the 
Region, the Secretary, and/or the Administrator of Greneral 
Services do not complete the nomination of lands referred to in 
subparagraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection by the dates set in 
subparagraphs 1(C)(1)(b) and 1(C)(2)(a) of the document 
referred to in this subsection, then, and in that event, these dates 
shall hereby automatically be extended by operation of this sub-
section for eighteen months. If these dates are hereby extended, 
the Secretary shall report to Congress at least thirty days prior to 
the occurrence of each such date as extended concerning the need 
for further remedial legislation. 
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the 
United States shall accept upon tender the State Deed of Title, 
including the State's legal descriptions, for lands to be reconveyed 
to the Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, pursuant to subsection (a) 
(1) of this section without requiring further survey prior to 
acceptance. Unless the boundaries of such lands have been specifi-
cally identified in a survey approved by the State or Federal 
Government, such lands shall be described by a metes and bounds 
description, or by aliquot parts of the Federal rectangular survey 
system, based wherever possible upon the Federal surveys initially 
performed to effect transfer and patent of said lands to the State 
of Alaska. Upon acceptance of a State Deed of Title said lands 
are hereby withdrawn from entry under the public land laws. 
Within sixty days the Secretary shall, without adjudication, issue 
conveyance to said lands of the interests conveyed by the State 
subject to any lawful reservations of rights or conditions contained 
in such State conveyance, as provided in the Terms and Conditions 
document, to Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, with patent to issue 
thereafter immediately following approval of survey. The Secre-
Nov. 15, 1977 
[H.R. 8499] 
Alaska Native 
Claims 
Settlement Act, 
amendment. 
Land conveyance, 
authorization. 
43 u s e 1613. 
Cook Inlet area, 
ownership 
consolidation. 
43 u s e 1611 
note. 
Nomination of 
lands, extension. 
Report to 
Congress. 
State lands, 
transfer and 
conveyance. 
91 STAT. 1370 
PUBLIC LAW 95-178—NOV. 15, 1977 
tary is authorized hereby to identify and reserve within two years 
after initial conveyance any easement he could have lawfully 
reserved prior to conveyance, and to issue immediately thereafter 
a revised conveyance reflecting such reservation, subject to the 
agreement of January 18, 1977, between the Secretary of the 
Interior, Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, and certain of the 
villages contained therein. The Secretary may initiate such ease-
ment identification and reservation procedure before the tender 
of the State Deed of Title, but initiation of such procedure shall 
not affect the timely issuance of conveyance by the Secretary as 
provided hereby, 
(b) If any provision of this Act or the applicability thereof is held 
invalid, the validity of the remainder of this Act, of section 12 of the 
43 use 1611 
Act of January 2,1976 (Public Law 94-204), as amended, of the docu-
°<'*®- 
ment referred to in section 12(b) thereof, and the duties and obliga-
tions of the Secretary of the Interior, the State of Alaska, and Cook 
Inlet Region, Incorporated, with respect thereto, shall not be affected 
thereby. 
Regional 
SEC. 4. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688), as 
Corporation's 
amended (43 U.S.C. 1601), is further amended by adding a new section 
assignments, 
at the end thereof: 
recognition. 
"§^0. 31. (a) Notwithstanding the provision of section 3477 of the 
43 use 1628. 
Revised Statutes, as amended (31 U.S.C. 203), the Secretary is author-
ized to recognize validly executed assignments made by Regional Cor-
porations of their rights to receive payments from the Alaska Native 
Fund. Such assignments shall only be recognized to the extent that the 
Regional Corporation involved is not required to distribute funds pur-
43 use 1606. 
suant to subsection (j) or (m) of section 7 of this Act. 
"(b) The Secretary shall not recognize any assignment under this 
section which does not provide that the United States reserves the 
right to assert against the assignee and successors of the assignee, any 
setoff or counterclaim which the United States has against the assignor 
Corporation. 
"(c) No stockholder of any Regional or Village Corporation shall 
have any claim against the Secretary or the United States as the result 
of any assignment duly recognized by the Secretary pursuant to this 
section.". 
Approved November 15, 1977. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 95-712 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 123 (1977): 
Oct. 31, considered and passed House. 
Nov. 1, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Nov. 3, House concurred in Senate amendments.