By Mary Brooks, Archives Intern
Title: Alaska Federal & State Indian Law Collection, 1999-2009
ID: MS/048
Primary Creator: Kapsner, Mary
Extent: 5.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 08/30/2013
Languages: English
This collection consists of research documents originally accumulated from various sources by Rep. Mary Kapsner of Bethel, former Representative of the 38th and 39th Districts in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1999-2009, that document a host of important legal issues of great importance to Alaska Native communities. Upon leaving public office, Kapsner donated these papers to the Juneau Alaska Law Library. Approximately ten years later, in 2013 the Alaska Law Library offered them to Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives.
Although the collection largely predates Kapsner’s elected terms, does not document Kapsner directly, or contain her personal or written papers, it does contain documents she presumably used and received to stay informed of legal issues that Alaska Natives discussed at the civic, state, and federal level. These documents include: correspondence between state and federal agencies, state and non-governmental agencies, both Native Alaskan and non-Native, as well as copies of lawsuits and legislation, excerpts from the Alaska Constitution, and press clippings.
The overarching issue documented in the papers in this collection concerns the Alaska Native Interest Land Conservation Act (ANILCA), Title VIII: which raises the question of who manages the natural resources that are to be used primarily for food; should it be the federal government, the state government or Alaska Natives? Within this overarching theme are three major issues, which include 1.) Subsistence; 2.) Tribal Status; and 3.) Indian Country. These papers document the ongoing moratorium instituted by the federal government against the State of Alaska due to the State’s purported failure to produce a workable solution for state management of subsistence-related resources. The importance of these documents and the subjects they cover cannot be underestimated as federal, state and Alaska Native agencies and organizations continued–and still continue–the efforts to address the legal issues of ownership and management of Alaska natural resources that were first addressed in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA) of 1971.
Repository: Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives
Access Restrictions: Open to the public according to the policies of Sealaska Heritage Institute.
Acquisition Source: Alaska Law Library
Acquisition Method:
The material in the collection was donated to SHI on August 30, 2013 by the Alaska Law Library.
This collection was purportedly accumulated by Mary Kapsner, state Representative for the 38th and 39th district, during her time in the Alaska House of Representatives (1999-2009). Although Kapsner collected the documents, there is no evidence of personal correspondence from or to her within this collection.
When Representative Kapsner left office, this research collection was donated to the Alaska Law Library. Understanding the significance of this collection and the ongoing legal and cultural issues regarding natural resource ownership in Alaska, the Law Library then sent it on to the Sealaska Heritage Institute for archival processing.
Processing Information: Processed by Mary Brooks, Archives Intern, on Oct. 2, 2013
Fd 1: Photocopies of various documents and press clippings pertaining Tribal Status as it relates to the Senate Joint Resolution No. 28, requiring Native Alaskan corporations to be audited. The date range is March 25, 1997 to May 8, 1997.
Fd 2: Photocopies of various documents pertaining to Tribal Status/Indian Country as it relates to Senator Hartford’s efforts to modify status in light of Venetie v. State of Alaska decision. Date range is September 1995 to January 1998.
Fd 3: Copy of the Athabascan Reports newsletter, volume 5, #1, dated January 20, 1996 that focuses on police brutality, and a photocopy of an undated essay entitled, “Effective Protection of Native Subsistence Rights on Alaska’s North Slope: A North Slope Borough or Tribal Government Function?” written by Rodney S. Pederson, Wildlife Law, Prof. Gary Meyers.
Fd 4: Photocopies of documents relating to the legal rights and status of Alaska Natives. The file includes both federal and state documents dating from 1982 to 1990.
Fd 5: Photocopies and originals of press clippings and newspaper editions regarding Tribal and Indian County status in Alaska dating from 1991 to 1997.
Fd 6: Photocopies and originals of press clippings and newspaper editions relating to Subsistence and Venetie dated 1999.
Fd 7: Photocopies of various documents pertaining to possible directions the legislature can take in dealing with Subsistence issues (Venetie, ANILCA Title VIII, SOA v Babbitt) and Indian Country status. Documents include: three peer reviewed articles from the Alaska Law Review c. 1997; Village Voices newsletters published in 1997-1998; press clippings, handwritten notes and commentaries regarding individual legislators’ opinions; and minutes generated for the January 5, and 1997 and 1998 House Finance Committee meetings in which Senate Bill No. 74 (legislative funding for Supreme Court review of Venetie v. State of Alaska Ninth Circuit decision) was discussed. Date range is 1995 to 1998.
Fd 8: Photocopies, two stapled groups, of correspondence regarding Tribal Status and Indian County. The documents discuss the relationships between the federal and tribal governments. One group of documents, generated in 1994, contains a memo dated December 21, 1994, from the director of [Federal] Fish and Wildlife and Parks with the subject heading, “Eligible Programs and 1995 Programmatic Targets for Implementation of the Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994”.
Fd 9: Photocopy of memorandum to Commissioner Joseph Perkins, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, dated July 11, 1995, from Assistant Attorney General William F. Cummings, Transportation Section-Juneau, regarding Indian Employment Preference.
Fd 10: Photocopies of documents generated for a public forum on Indian Country presented by Attorneys at Law David Case, Heather Kendall, Lloyd Miller, Carol Daniel, and Lawrence Ashenbrenner entitled, ‘“5 Mavens in Raven Country’, A Question and Answer Session on Indian Country”. The forum was held at two locations on March 25-26, 1997, in Juneau, Alaska. Three copies are included, one unmarked and the two others with individualized highlighting.
Fd 11: Photocopies and originals of documents regarding the State Chamber of Commerce, State politics and Indian Country circa 1997.
Fd 12: Photocopies of documents pertaining to the fallout of the Venetie v. SOA decision. Included are correspondence and legislative documents regarding Tribal Status and Indian Country. The date range is May 1996 to July 1997.
Fd 13: Photocopies of a letter of support sent to Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, from the “Bush Caucus” in the Alaska Legislature, dated February 14, 1997.
Fd 14: Photocopied documents regarding Tribal Status/Indian Country as it pertains to Venetie v. State of Alaska. The documents include: a white paper generated by the Alaska State Legislature entitle, “What Does Indian Country Really Mean for Alaska?” dated February 26, 1997; “Summary of Ninth Circuit Indian Country Decisions” generated by Deputy Attorney General Barbara J. Richie dated March 22, 1997; and, an Outdoor Council handout dated March 22, 1997.
Fd 15: Photocopies of five different articles concerning Indian Country found in various journal or magazines requested from the Alaska State Library circa 1996.
Fd 16: Photocopy of petition for a writ of certiorari to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dated October Term, 1996, State of Alaska, Petitioner, v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, et al., Respondents. The document pertains to Tribal Status and Indian Country.
Fd 17: Photocopies of legal documents and memos regarding [Tribal] Indian Country status as it pertains to the Venetie case and the Kluti Kaah case.
Fd 18: Photocopies of documents showing expenditures incurred by the State in pursuing the legal case of Venetie v. State of Alaska. The date range is February 13, 1997 to January 5, 1998.
Fd 19: Photocopies of documents supporting the request for supplemental appropriation in order to obtain a Supreme Court review of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in the Venetie v. State of Alaska case. The date range is October 13, 1995 to November 12, 1998.
Fd 20: Photocopies and originals of Alaska Outdoor Council newsletters and correspondence regarding Subsistence issues including Indian Country.
Fd 21: Photocopies of SOA legal case summaries pertaining to Tribal status and Indian Country generated by the SOA Department of Law for various entities. Also included is correspondence regarding legal issues on various cases. The date range is December 18, 1995, to March 6, 1998.
Fd 22: Photocopies of correspondence regarding amendments being introduced changing Subsistence laws in Alaska (ANILCA Title VIII). Also included is a document entitled, “Report on Borough Organization in the Tanana Chiefs Region” dated October 1986. The date range is October 1986 to April 5, 2001.
Fd 23: Photocopies and one original of various Alaska statewide public opinion research surveys dating from March 15, 1998 to November 27, 2001.
Fd 24: Photocopies of various Alaska statewide public opinion research surveys dating from January 2004 to March 2007.
Fd 25: Photocopies of various targeted population regional surveys in Alaska dating from 1998 to 2002.
Fd 26: Photocopies of correspondence relating to US Senator Ted Stevens bill, H.R.2107, amending ANILCA Title VIII. The date range is October 1997 to February 1998.
Fd 27: Photocopy and original of correspondence to and from Alaska Senator Al Adams regarding SB 215 introduced in response to the Venetie and Kluti Kaah court decisions going against the State. The date range is January 1995 to May 1996.
Fd 28: Photocopies of correspondence and press clippings concerning Governor Tony Knowles position on Tribal Sovereignty. The date range is February 1995 to November 1995.
Fd 29: Photocopies of Governors Cowper, Hickel administrative orders stating Alaska’s policy regarding Indian Country status. Also included is Governor Knowles position on “native governance”. The date range is September 1990 to June 1994.
