s we celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) reflects on the strength, resilience, and determination of our early leaders. Those who fought to ensure the Iñupiat of the Arctic Slope would rightly benefit from the oil and gas development that was about to take place on our ancestral homelands. Not only did the passage of ANCSA create ASRC but it was also the reason for the incorporation of the North Slope Borough (NSB). ASRC and the NSB, two entities that represent the people in the northernmost region of the United States. Two entities whose origins are closely tied—without one, the other may not have come to be. Two entities who owe their existence to the coordinated efforts of the Iñupiat people of the Arctic Slope region.

In 1959, the Alaska Statehood Act put into motion a land selection process for the federal government and the newly minted State of Alaska that ignored the Indigenous people who had occupied these lands for thousands of years. Early leaders from our region sprang into action and began working together to stop the federal and state governments from continuing the land selection until aboriginal land claims were addressed. In 1965, Charles Etok Edwardsen led the formation of the Arctic Slope Native Association (ASNA) to claim legal ownership of the Arctic Slope area. It was ASNA that represented the Arctic Slope people, led by James Nageak, Abel Akpik, Samuel Simmonds, Walton Ahmaogak, Sam Taalak, Lee Suvlu, Alice Woods, Art Oomituk, and more. Other Alaska Native associations across the state began to file their own land claims, and in 1966 the Alaska Federation of Natives was formed to coordinate the statewide Alaska Native land claims efforts. It was through the coordinated efforts that later that year, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall imposed a “land freeze” on further land conveyances between the federal and state governments until the Alaska Native land claims were settled. The timing of the land claims could not have been better since it coincided with the 1968 discovery of oil located in our region at Prudhoe Bay.

Congress began drafting legislation to address aboriginal land claims that would allow for the development of oil at Prudhoe Bay and the construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline to move forward. As early drafts of what would become ANCSA were being debated, ASNA’s leadership expressed serious concerns about the formulas being considered to distribute lands in each region. ASNA saw that our region would not receive anywhere near what our people claimed. It was around this time that leadership from the Arctic Slope began devising a plan to ensure the Iñupiat people of the Arctic Slope would benefit from the oil development that was taking place in our region. Their solution: create a home-rule government so our people would have the authority over the planning, zoning, taxation, and education within its boundaries—the North Slope Borough.

ANCSA passed on December 18, 1971, and ASNA was the only Native association to oppose the legislation, again on the simple premise that our region did not get enough land. Even so, our people abided by the terms of the law. ASRC incorporated on June 22, 1972, and our early leaders, including Jacob Adams Sr. and Oliver Leavitt, began enrolling our shareholders, selecting lands, and starting our early businesses.

There are many facets to the Iñupiat identity, including their traditional roles such as hunter and whaling caption and the westernized roles of shareholder, mayor, or board member.

GeorgeBurba | iStock

On July 2, 1972, the NSB was officially incorporated, a mere ten days after ASRC, thanks to early leaders such as Adams, Leavitt, Wyman Panigeo, Edward Hopson, Joseph Upicksoun, and many others. The NSB could now tax the infrastructure used to support oil and gas exploration and development, capturing an economic base to fund essential services like police and fire protection, education and schooling, search and rescue capabilities, village health clinics, and more.

Despite our region’s opposition to ANCSA, the Iñupiat people of the Arctic Slope took control of their destiny through the formation of a municipal government.

From the beginning of the Arctic Slope Iñupiat foray into a westernized structure, ASRC and the NSB have worked together for the betterment of our people. Our early leaders, guided by lessons from our ancestors, listened to the past and turned their gaze to the future. The decisions they made fifty years ago were made for future generations of Iñupiat people—they prepared for generations to come.

Today there are many facets to our modern Iñupiat identity. In the blink of an eye, we adapted to comfortably move between our traditional Iñupiat roles and modern westernized roles. Hunter. Shareholder. Whaling captain. Mayor. Seamstress. Board member. We are resilient and we are adaptable. We will continue to face our challenges with strength and integrity. We will keep our eyes on the horizon and keep future generations of Iñupiat in mind as we chart our path forward—just like those who came before us.