Sealaska will distribute about $14 million to shareholders and smaller corporations this week.
Checks will be mailed on or around Thursday, April 12th. Direct deposits to bank accounts will be made at the same time.
The Juneau-based regional Native corporation has about 21,000 shareholders. A little less than half live in Southeast Alaska.
The corporation pays out different-sized dividends to several classes of shareholders. Most own 100 shares, though some have larger or smaller numbers.
Those who are part of an urban Native corporation, such as Juneau’s Goldbelt, will receive $845, based on 100 shares. At-large shareholders, who are not part of an urban or village corporation, get the same amount.
Shareholders who are part of a village corporation will receive $125. The same is true for descendent shareholders.
Elders in any category receive an additional $125 per 100 shares.
The difference between urban and village shareholder payouts is a pool of regional corporations’ resource earnings.
Sealaska pays that part of the dividend directly to urban and at-large tribal members. It passes it on to village corporations, which decide whether to pass it on to their shareholders.
Last spring’s dividend was $716 for urban and at-large shareholders and $122 for village shareholders. Spring of 2010’s payment was $412 and $236 per 100 shares. The corporation also has a fall pay-out.
Sealaska owns timber, gravel, environmental services, plastics and other businesses in Alaska, the Lower-48 and Mexico.
Read more here: Sealaska press release on spring distribution.
Ed Schoenfeld is Regional News Director for CoastAlaska, a consortium of public radio stations in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.
He primarily covers Southeast Alaska regional topics, including the state ferry system, transboundary mining, the Tongass National Forest and Native corporations and issues.
He has also worked as a manager, editor and reporter for the Juneau Empire newspaper and Juneau public radio station KTOO. He’s also reported for commercial station KINY in Juneau and public stations KPFA in Berkley, WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and WUHY in Philadelphia. He’s lived in Alaska since 1979 and is a contributor to Alaska Public Radio Network newscasts, the Northwest (Public Radio) News Network and National Native News. He is a board member of the Alaska Press Club. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he lives in Douglas.
