Alaska Natives and the Law

Session I: Monday, June 16 - Friday, June 23, 1:00pm - 3:45p.m., exam, June 23.

The law governing Alaska Natives, their tribes, and their village and regional corporations is unique in many ways from "regular" Indian law.

This one-credit one-week intensive course is designed to expose students to Native Alaskan Law. Native Alaskans make up an important part of that state; they comprise more than 19% of the state's population and they are growing rapidly in numbers. Their 229 tribal governments and 13 regional corporations own more than 44 million acres of Alaska and these entities and the Native Alaskan people are a major part of the economic, political, and cultural life of that state. This course is important for all Alaskan residents, anyone who might practice law in Alaska, and for people who want to study the entire range of Federal Indian Law. We will cover issues such as Aboriginal title, allotments and town sites the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, subsistence hunting and fishing, Alaska Native governments and organizations, and Native claims to self-Government.

The course will be held two and a half hours a day for five days, June 16-20. Grades will be based on class participation and an examination that will be administered on Monday June 23rd.

Professors: Robert Miller, David Voluck, 1 semester hour.