New book argues Alaska Natives lost hundreds of millions in pandemic relief

When Congress sent billions in pandemic relief to Indian Country, Alaska Native corporations were left out — and a new book from Sealaska Heritage Institute argues that exclusion cost Alaska Natives several hundred million dollars.

The author is attorney Chris Shaakakóoni McNeil, Tlingit and a member of the Nisga'a Nation, who led Sealaska Corporation as president and CEO for 13 years. He notes the figure is his own estimate, drawn from the Treasury allocation formula; no formal accounting of the decision's impact exists.

The fight began with the 2020 CARES Act, which sent $8 billion to "Indian tribes" and set off a legal battle over who counted. The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act added tens of billions more for tribes. The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation lobbied successfully to exclude ANCSA corporations, arguing that funding both the tribes and the corporations would be double-dipping that diverts money from tribal governments.

McNeil argues the reverse came true. Because of how the Treasury built its allocation formula, he writes, the exclusion "worked to the extreme detriment of Alaska Natives generally." He warns the harm will continue, and notes that several tribes are working to overturn the Supreme Court decision behind it.

His closing turns to the next generation of Alaska Native leaders, calling the path forward a matter of imagination, planning, and the fortitude earlier leaders brought to protecting Native lands.

The book is part of SHI's Box of Knowledge series and is available online or at the Sealaska Heritage Institute store.