Land into trust limbo for Alaska tribes

Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has applied to federal government to place its Andrew Hope Building in downtown Juneau into a federal trust making it exempt from local and state jurisdictions. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

Indian Country is a term used to describe reservation and other trust lands. The
designation allows tribes to have greater economic and legal control of the land that is held in trust for them by the federal government. It can unlock federal funds for development and also precludes state and borough governments from taxing the trust property. The authority has only been in place since 2014 after years of legal battles. Now it’s on hold. How much land has been placed in to trust in 4 years and what does the review mean for future applications?

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HOST: Lori Townsend

GUESTS:

  • Richard Peterson – President, Central Council of Tlingit and Haida (invited)
  • Mike Walleri – Fairbanks attorney
  • Anna Crary – tribal issues attorney

 

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LIVE Broadcast: Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. on APRN stations statewide.

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Lori Townsend

Lori Townsend is the chief editor, senior vice president of journalism and senior host for Alaska Public Media. You can send her news tips and program ideas for Talk of Alaska and Alaska Insight at ltownsend@alaskapublic.org or call 907-550-8452. Read more about Lori here.

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