THE POTENTIAL INTERCONTINENTAL RAILWAY BETWEEN SIBERIA AND ALASKA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR ALASKA NATIVE CORPORATIONS AND FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES

This article argues that if the U.S. government wished to construct an intercontinental railway between Siberia and Alaska, then the directly impacted Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and federally recognized Tribes nearby would need to first consent to and authorize the construction. After the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, ANCs own Native land in Alaska, while federally recognized Tribes have no reservations in Alaska (with one exception) and almost no legal claims to the title of the land. ANCs and federally recognized Tribes are also distinct entities with occasionally differing interests. Construction managers might be tempted to receive consent from ANCs (the landowners) for the tracks and conduct minimal consultation with the federally recognized Tribes. But the railway could harm the Tribes’ means of subsistence and way of life through increased traffic, human populations, and pollution. The U.S. government has a long history of taking Native land for railway construction projects, and this scenario could become history repeating itself. This article examines the needed authorization from federally recognized Tribes for the railway in the interest of respecting Tribal sovereignty and self-determination and upholding the federal Indian trust responsibility and relationship.