Opinion ID: 2583951
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Cultural significance and history of the Eklutna quarry site

Text: The quarry is located on one of two hills, or knobs, adjacent to Eklutna. Dr. James Fall, a cultural anthropologist, prepared a report for the Railroad that explained the Eklutna quarry site's significance as the source of the village's name: The Dena'ina name for the village [of Eklutna] is Idlughet, The Place by the Plural Objects.... The plural objects referenced in these place names are the two hills, or to use the term used by many Eklutna residents today, the knobs, located between the village and Knik Arm, just north and east of the community. For purposes of this appeal, the parties agree that Eklutna considers the knobs within the quarry property to be culturally significant. The Alaska Railroad, at the time owned by the United States government, owned and operated the Eklutna quarry from an undetermined date in the 1940s until 1985. [1] In 1985, under the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982, the Railroad was turned over to the State of Alaska, which operated it through the then newly created Alaska Railroad Corporation. [2] In 1987 Eklutna, Inc. and the Alaska Railroad Corporation entered into an agreement settling their respective claims over property under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [3] and under the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act. [4] Under that agreement, the Alaska Railroad Corporation was granted the land containing the quarry until it ceases to use the land in connection with furnishing mass or bulk transportation, at which time the land is to be conveyed to Eklutna.