epresenting peoples and cultures that long predate the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) under which they were established, the twelve regional corporations are fundamentally unique in terms of environmental challenges, corporate purposes, and structures.

The twelve regional Alaska Native corporations (ANCs) are Ahtna; Aleut; Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; Doyon, Limited; NANA; Koniag; Sealaska; Bering Straits Native Corporation; Calista Corporation; Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI); Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC); and Chugach Alaska Corporation.

The passage of ANCSA ushered in a new era for Alaska Native people, sorting them into commercial enterprises quite different from Indigenous societies. They would ascend to profitability through individual grit and cooperative aid.

Seeing the need for an official forum where leaders could gather and discuss issues, the twelve formed their own organization. Among the visionaries were Carl Marrs, then of CIRI; Oliver Leavitt of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; Dennis Metrokin of Koniag; and Morris Thompson of Doyon.

They convened in 1997 and worked to bring together other ANC presidents and CEOs, and in 1998 the Association of ANCSA Regional Corporation Presidents and CEOs held its first official meeting. The name was changed to the ANCSA Regional Association (ARA) in 2011 to better reflect the organization’s purpose and membership.

While each regional corporation operates independently and reflects the priorities of its shareholders, ARA acts as a convener, connector, and advocate, bringing leaders together to address statewide and federal issues, according to ARA President Nicole Borromeo.

“ARA’s role isn’t to replace or duplicate what individual corporations do but to amplify shared priorities—whether that’s in federal policy, public education, or national advocacy,” says Borromeo, who became ARA president in May upon the departure of Kim Reitmeier, who held the position for fourteen years. “Everything we do is rooted in one goal: To help our members provide more meaningful benefits to Alaska Native shareholders, descendants, and communities.”

While ARA is hardly the glue that holds the twelve regional corporations and villages together, it certainly is part of the magic sauce, says Jason Metrokin, BBNC president and CEO. “However, it’s our Native values; our collective opportunities, challenges, and threats; and our resilience as Native people that holds us together,” he adds. “Our 10,000 years of working together goes well beyond any current day organization.”

Metrokin’s father helped pioneer ARA, and now the son is part of the conclave.

“Prior to ARA, many of the regional ANCs worked on their own regional issues, regardless of shared experiences and challenges of other Alaska Native regional organizations,” says Metrokin. “The Alaska Federation of Natives was our key conduit for statewide issues. Now with ARA, we have a Native corporate industry trade association where we can collaborate, leverage, and influence as a collective—specific to the wants and needs of regional ANCs. The addition of ARA has allowed us to better understand the issues facing all ANCs and how we can address challenges together and learn from those who have endured these issues already.”

Alaska Federation of Natives was formed prior to ANCSA in response to the land claims issues brought forth by various organized Alaska Native groups, consolidating group efforts and evolving as the statewide organization advocating for Indigenous land claims. The federation’s members include ANCSA regional and village corporations as well as 176 federally recognized tribes, giving it a broader scope than ARA. Although both organizations serve the same constituency, ARA generally concentrates on business matters.

“ARA has been highly influential to protect our seat at the table with industrial partners and the state and federal government. Together, ARA members are a stronger force,” Metrokin states.

ARA members don’t always agree, admits Borromeo, but the organization’s unique board of directors, composed of ANC presidents and CEOs, requires consensus on issues that matter most.

“That alignment allows us to combine the significant resources of all twelve regional corporations and speak with the collective voice of more than 160,000 Alaska Native shareholders,” Borromeo states. “We take that responsibility seriously.”

Funded and staffed by member corporations, ARA holds regular in-person meetings with the board and, when necessary, travels to Washington, DC, to advocate directly on behalf of members, shareholders, and communities.

“Together, ARA members have won campaigns that many considered unwinnable,” Borromeo says. “We’ve helped secure equal access to federal benefits, protected our lands and resources, and advocated for our people at the highest levels of government.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ARA worked to provide for Alaska Native people, from remote villages to urban centers.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 included funding to Alaska Native corporations. “After a lawsuit to prevent Alaska Native people from receiving our fair share of COVID relief funding, ARA and other organizations went to the US Supreme Court to advocate on behalf of Alaska Native people—and won,” says Shauna Hegna, president of Koniag and ARA chair. “ARA helped to secure around $450 million, which became critical in helping Alaska Native communities recover from the economic crisis created by the pandemic.”

And sometimes the association is more explicitly political. “Who could forget: ‘How do you spell Mur-KOW-ski?’” recalls Borromeo. “ARA formed [the political action committee] Alaskans Standing Together, which played a pivotal role in Senator Lisa Murkowski’s historic write-in campaign in 2010—the first successful statewide write-in victory in more than fifty years.”

ARA celebrated ANCSA’s 50th anniversary in 2021 with production of a half-hour video, ANCSA: Our People, Our Land, Our Future, that looks back at the first fifty years of ANCSA and captures a glimpse of what is to come.

“That type of advocacy is precisely what the visionary leaders of ARA’s predecessor came together to do,” adds Hegna.

ARA continues navigating important challenges facing regional and village corporations, including climate change and its effects on infrastructure and subsistence resources, managing land and natural resources responsibly, sustaining economic growth amid global market fluctuations, and meeting the needs of shareholders across generations, says Borromeo.

“Our board members lead complex corporations, and our team at ARA is constantly engaged with evolving priorities,” she adds. “But the commitment to serve our people never wavers. I’m deeply thankful for the dedication of our board, staff, and partners. It is humbling to see what we continue to accomplish together.”