SHI TO SPONSOR LECTURES FOR NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a noon lecture series to celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November.

The brown-bag lunch series will focus on the impact of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) which was passed by Congress forty years ago, said SHI President Rosita Worl, adding Tlingit and Haida and Sealaska Corporation also will sponsor a November luncheon in recognition of ANCSA.

Alaska settled its Native land claims in a historic way by founding Native corporations. That was a complete departure from the way Native tribes in the Lower 48 settled land claims by forming reservations, Worl said.

“ANCSA is a very different creature than reservations, “Worl said. “I know Alaskans hear a lot about Native corporations but they might not always understand the history of ANCSA, or how corporations work.”

The lectures will be held from 12-1 pm in the 4^th floor boardroom at Sealaska Plaza in Juneau. The series was sponsored by McDowell Group and Kathy Ruddy of Juneau. Attendees are invited to bring their own lunches.

Lectures 12-1 pm, Sealaska Plaza, 4th Floor Boardroom (bring your own lunch)
Friday, Nov. 4	ANCSA: Good or Bad? Byron Mallott Fellow, First Alaskan Institute
Monday, Nov. 14	The Interrelationships Between Tribes and Corporations Edward Thomas President, Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska
Tuesday, Nov. 15	Alaska Native Corporations and Cultural Models of Sustainability Thomas F. Thornton Senior Research Fellow, Environmental Change and Management, Oxford University
Monday, Nov. 21	The Legal Status of Alaska Native Corporations & Economic Self Determination Chris McNeil President & CEO Sealaska Corporation
Monday, Nov. 28	ANCSA: A Path to Assimilation or Cultural Survival Rosita Worl President, Sealaska Heritage Institute

The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indians and Sealaska Corporation also will sponsor a noon luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 16, to recognize the initial Sealaska Board of Directors and Emil Notti, Chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives when Alaska Natives were pursuing the settlement of their aboriginal land claims.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a regional nonprofit representing the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.

Photo: Guest lecturer Dan Monteith at SHI’s 2010 lecture series in Juneau,