ANCSA
Revenue
Sharing
Works
haring revenues from natural resource development is one of the core tenets of ANCSA, which granted village corporations the surface rights and regional corporations the subsurface rights to the lands that were conveyed to them in the agreement.
Revenue sharing requirements have enhanced cooperation between the village and regional corporations that own the 44 million acres that were transferred by the federal government through ANCSA and has created opportunities for economic growth for those organizations and the regions and villages they serve.
Section 7(i) requires that any revenues an Alaska Native regional corporation receives from ANCSA lands (for example, from timber resources or natural resources in subsurface estate) must be shared in a 70/30 split. Seventy percent of the revenue is disbursed to the other Alaska Native regional corporations and the remaining 30 percent is kept by the regional corporation that developed the natural resource.
Section 7(j) ensures that revenues from natural resource wealth are shared with Alaska Native village corporations. The regional corporations disburse 50 percent of the Section 7(i) revenues they receive to Alaska Native village corporations within the region. Village and urban corporations are not required to distribute any of this revenue sharing to other village corporations or to regional corporations.
While Section 7(i) has succeeded in creating an economic leveling effect among Alaska Native regional corporations, its reach has been felt throughout the entire state. The ANCSA Regional Association reports that in FY2015, Section 7(i) distributions represented $352 million in total economic activity, including an estimated 2,300 to 2,800 jobs.
In 2018, the ANCSA Regional Association commissioned a report by McDowell Group on the economic impacts of Sections 7(i) and 7(j) of ANCSA. Among other discoveries, the report states that every Alaska Native regional corporation has had periods during which it received more 7(i) payments than it paid out, making all twelve of the regional corporations and their shareholders Section 7(i) beneficiaries. It also found that the redistribution of wealth among the regions receiving these revenues had achieved the “leveling effect” in economic activity that it was designed to provide.
ANCSA—which at the time was the largest land claims settlement act in US history—has had a tremendous impact on the Alaska Native population and the state itself. In FY17 alone, Alaska Native regional corporations had a combined revenue of $9.1 billion and employed more than 15,000 people in Alaska with a combined statewide payroll of more than $950 million. 
haring revenues from natural resource development is one of the core tenets of ANCSA, which granted village corporations the surface rights and regional corporations the subsurface rights to the lands that were conveyed to them in the agreement.
Revenue sharing requirements have enhanced cooperation between the village and regional corporations that own the 44 million acres that were transferred by the federal government through ANCSA and has created opportunities for economic growth for those organizations and the regions and villages they serve.
According to the ANCSA Regional Association, because some land areas were richer in natural resources and had more potential for economic development, it was necessary to provide for other regions that did not have that advantage. ANCSA’s revenue sharing provisions, which are contained in sections 7(i) and 7(j), ensure that all Alaska Native corporations and their shareholders benefit from revenues derived from natural resource development on ANCSA lands.
Section 7(i) requires that any revenues an Alaska Native regional corporation receives from ANCSA lands (for example, from timber resources or natural resources in subsurface estate) must be shared in a 70/30 split. Seventy percent of the revenue is disbursed to the other Alaska Native regional corporations and the remaining 30 percent is kept by the regional corporation that developed the natural resource.
Section 7(j) ensures that revenues from natural resource wealth are shared with Alaska Native village corporations. The regional corporations disburse 50 percent of the Section 7(i) revenues they receive to Alaska Native village corporations within the region. Village and urban corporations are not required to distribute any of this revenue sharing to other village corporations or to regional corporations.
While Section 7(i) has succeeded in creating an economic leveling effect among Alaska Native regional corporations, its reach has been felt throughout the entire state. The ANCSA Regional Association reports that in FY2015, Section 7(i) distributions represented $352 million in total economic activity, including an estimated 2,300 to 2,800 jobs.
In 2018, the ANCSA Regional Association commissioned a report by McDowell Group on the economic impacts of Sections 7(i) and 7(j) of ANCSA. Among other discoveries, the report states that every Alaska Native regional corporation has had periods during which it received more 7(i) payments than it paid out, making all twelve of the regional corporations and their shareholders Section 7(i) beneficiaries. It also found that the redistribution of wealth among the regions receiving these revenues had achieved the “leveling effect” in economic activity that it was designed to provide.
ANCSA—which at the time was the largest land claims settlement act in US history—has had a tremendous impact on the Alaska Native population and the state itself. In FY17 alone, Alaska Native regional corporations had a combined revenue of $9.1 billion and employed more than 15,000 people in Alaska with a combined statewide payroll of more than $950 million.