State loses another round in fight over tribal lands

WASHINGTON, DC — Alaska Native tribes can now petition the federal government to take their land into “trust,” an action previously barred in Alaska that could result in greater federal support for village efforts to ban alcohol and prosecute some crimes.

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Friday rejected an appeal by the state of Alaska, saying the state’s argument was moot because the Interior Department had already done away with the regulation that Native groups were challenging.

The ruling marks a major legal change for Alaska tribes. For 35 years, the Interior Department held to an “Alaska exemption” barring it from acquiring Native land into trust, citing land agreements of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in which the federal government granted Alaska Natives 44 million acres and gave Native corporations $952.5 million.

http://juneauempire.com/state/2016-07-04/state-loses-another-round-fight-over-tribal-lands