Bering Straits Native Corporation
Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) was formed in 1972 as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) regional corporation for the Bering Straits and Norton Sound region. The corporation actively pursues responsible development of resources and other business opportunities. Through its subsidiaries, BSNC serves the federal government and commercial customers. The corporation is headquartered in the city of Nome, Alaska, operates a business office in Anchorage, Alaska, and operates site locations in Alaska, across the United States and internationally. The BSNC region is located in Northwest Alaska and is home to three culturally distinct people: Inupiat , Siberian Yupik and Central Yup’ik. BSNC is owned by more than 7,600 Alaska Native shareholders. BSNC owns and manages a subsurface estate of approximately , of its own and the remainder selected by the region’s 17 village corporations. It employs 534 employees in Alaska out of a total workforce of 1,566 and had a gross revenue of $326 million in 2016. Shareholders and Descendants. Bering Straits Native Corporation is owned by more than 7,700 Alaska Native shareholders. These include original shareholders, heirs and gift recipients residing inside and outside Alaska. BSNC shareholders who are Alaska Native are eligible to  vote for the Board of Directors or on other advisory matters that come to the shareholders for a vote at the Annual Meeting. At incorporation, BSNC enrolled about 6,333 Alaska Native shareholders, each of whom received 100 shares of BSNC stock. As an ANCSA corporation, BSNC has no publicly traded stock and its shares cannot legally be sold. Descendants are eligible to receive scholarships from the Bering Straits Foundation and qualified job applicants are eligible for the same hiring preference offered to BSNC shareholders. Descendants who meet academic qualifications are eligible to participate in BSNC’s Summer Internship Program . Descendant use of BSNC’s lands for recreational and subsistence endeavors is allowed and encouraged. Lands. The BSNC region encompasses most of the Seward Peninsula and eastern Norton Sound in Alaska. BSNC's land entitlement under ANCSA includes over 2.1 million acres (8,900 km²) of surface and/or subsurface estate in this region. Business enterprises. Under federal law, Bering Straits Native Corporation and its majority-owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partnerships are deemed to be "minority and economically disadvantaged business enterprise[s]" (43 USC 1626(e)).