Event free, open to the public
Nov. 15, 2019
(Flyer)
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a lecture on how Southeast Alaska came to be included in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).
The lecture, The Alaska Federation of Natives and the Inclusion of Sealaska in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, will be given by Emil Notti, a long-time political activist and first president of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN).
Notti will address the formation of AFN and the debate and vote at the federation to include Sealaska in ANCSA. He cast the tie-breaking vote at AFN to allow Southeast Alaska Natives into ANCSA, and, if not for him, the First Peoples of Southeast Alaska would not have been able to reclaim their Indigenous lands under the act.
Notti was a force behind the land claims movement and negotiations that culminated in ANCSA. He was instrumental in calling for a statewide convening of Alaska Natives from every region of the state. He has served as the CEO of Doyon Limited, Commissioner of Commerce & Economic Development, and Commissioner of Community & Regional Affairs for the State of Alaska. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical and electrical engineering from Northrop University. He is U.S. Navy veteran.
The event is scheduled from noon-1 pm, Tuesday, Nov. 19, at Sealaska Heritage’s Walter Soboleff Building, 105 S. Seward St. in Juneau. The lecture will be videotaped and put online shortly after the talk.
This program is provided under the Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools (PITAAS) program and funded by the Alaska Native Education Program.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Amy Fletcher, SHI Media and Publications Director, 907.586.9116, amy.fletcher@sealaska.com.
