January 2019 Member Newsletter
Message from the Executive Director:
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Happy New Year ANVCA members and partners! We had an amazing year in 2018 and are looking forward to an even better 2019 as we continue to welcome new partner and member organizations. We have much to celebrate as we finally accomplished one long-term goal in getting legal liability for contaminated ANCSA lands lifted from our Members. In addition, we worked with the Alaska Congressional Delegation to ensure that there would be funding for Brownfield grants including site evaluation and environmental clean-up.
ANVCA wants to once again recognize and thank each and every one of our members that dedicated their time to advocating on this issue. While there were so many of you that made this a reality, two people in particular deserve special mention, Brennan Cain of the Eyak Corporation and Sarah Lukin, Afognak Board member. These two individuals carried the water on this issue for many years and were instrumental to the passage of the final bill; a giant thank you to them both! And to our partner Waste Management, we are truly grateful for your support and added brain power to push this initiative over the finish line.
We recognize that in 2019 things will look a bit different. On the Federal level the House is now controlled by the Democrats, while the Senate remains in Republican control. This divided Congress can often times mean a longer, more measured approach than we may have been used to in these last two years. It is not a bad thing, however we will need to tweak our strategy in order to fit this new reality. In addition, we have a new Governor and State Administration that we look forward to working with.
The Republican leadership in the Senate had hoped to pass their 7 spending bills in the lame duck session, but this did not happen. The new Democratic leadership in the House will introduce their versions of the same spending bills all while the fight over border wall funding rages on. Our membership is no doubt starting to feel the pain of the partial government shut down, while smaller in scale than past shutdowns, the fight over a border wall in DC is no doubt impacting our federal contracting entities and its labor force. ANVCA and our partner organizations are hoping to collect impact stories from the shutdown, if your business is being impacted, please
e-mail us and let us know how.
ANVCA anticipates that once spending bills are out of the way the next wave of activity within the 116th Congress will likely be related to infrastructure development. We have worked with our legislative committee and partner Arent Fox to develop our own "ask" around this activity. We would like to see a portion of opportunities for any public/private infrastructure projects allocated to small disadvantaged businesses. We are on the lookout for infrastructure that can produce a long-term steady revenue stream (toll bridges, roads, utilities, etc) that our members may want to consider. Read the draft legislative language
HERE. We ask our members and partners to read and comment to make it even better!
In 2019, ANVCA will still need to remain focused on contaminated lands. The next legislative agenda item will be to allow for a "land swap" for those ANCs that received land that was not economically viable. The new discussion package can be reviewed
HERE. We have already been in touch with Congressman Young's office, who has forwarded this language to their legal department for review. The next step we anticipate will be to introduce this bill in the 116th Congress, so stay tuned! Also we would love your feedback, good bad or indifferent. Please send any legislative comments to David Clark at [email protected].
The Contaminated Lands working group is being facilitated by ANTHC, the next meeting will be January 14, 2019, if you are interested in joining this group, please contact
Joy Britt. If you suspect that you have a contaminated site, please use out
RESOURCE GUIDE to help you get the right information to get started on clean-up. We are working with our partners to ensure that DoD is prioritizing our sites, and providing proper funding for programs like NALEMP for instance. If you don't yet have an existing environmental clean-up entity, consider a joint venture with one of our experienced
Partner organizations! Give us a call and we will get you in touch with the right people based on your specific needs.
Native contractor preference for government contracting remains a high priority for ANVCA. You can read more about our "ask"
HERE. This legislation will help to ensure that Native organizations have the opportunity to participate in clean-up activities on their own lands. We want to extend a thank you to Jeff Makin at Arent Fox, who helped us develop much of the starting language for all of these proposals.
Finally as we begin our planning for 2019 our goal remains to have 100 percent paid participation from our village members. If you have not yet registered as a supporting member of ANVCA, we ask that you please consider doing so today. You can register for a full 12 months for only $200, dues are suggested only, based on your annual revenue read more
HERE. You will gain access to our members only web portal, that houses videos and power point materials for ALL of our programming for easy access any time as well as discounted registration for all events. Paid members also receive exclusive investment opportunities from our partner network.
Happy New Year again and look forward to seeing you all this year!
Tsin'aen,
Hallie L. Bissett
Executive Director
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A big thank you to our Moose, Caribou, and Salmon Partners for supporting us in 2018!
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And our continued thanks to our Denali Members for your support this year!
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Help ANVCA help YOU get connected and onto the pathway to success! REGISTER TODAY as a dues-paying
Member or
Partner to receive more benefits that we have to offer!
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Welcome to our new Partners!
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Senate Bill 202 becomes Alaska state law
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ANVCA has been pushing for legislative solutions to the issue of ANCSA contaminated lands since 2012. After around eight months of advocacy work from ANVCA Staff and our Members and Partners, from the time of our Juneau Fly-In in February to the 2018 AFN Convention, Senate Bill 202 (SB202) is now Alaska state law, marking 2018 as a productive year for ANVCA’s efforts on this issue.
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Having qualms about quorums? Here's what other Members are doing
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The State of Alaska legally requires ANCs to conduct Shareholder business at a quorum of the majority of eligible shares, unless otherwise specified by the ANC’s written bylaws to allow for a lower percentage of eligible shares. A recent change in state law allows an ANC to change their minimum required quorum level from 50% + 1 to 33%. Any changes to these bylaws, even to allow for a lower required minimum amount of votes, must also be approved by the eligible Shareholder base.
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SBA HUBZone Comment Period Extension
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The original due date for HUBZone comments was extended on December 31, 2018 to a new due date:
February 14, 2019.
You will be able to submit comments via web and hard-copy mail.
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Alaska Natives exploring "Middle Earth" for local energy solutions
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The Fairbanks Northstar Borough is the third largest population base in the State of Alaska, home to approximately 99,000 people. In a region the size of France, it is the hub of economic activity for the 34 surrounding villages, village corporations, and regional corporations. Communities in this area are largely without a clean and affordable source of heat, as many individuals experience energy bills that are greater than their mortgage payments during cold winter months. The primary energy source in the area is coal, wood, and heating oil - cheap and easy to burn with little existing natural gas infrastructure. While traditional fossil fuel energy sources provide readily accessible sources of energy, the negative impact on air quality and associated health-related ailments is well documented.
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In partnership with First Alaskans Institute, ANC leaders explore ways to improve tribal relationships
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With the knowledge that a unified Alaska Native community advances our overall well-being, whether it be a tribe, an Alaska Native Corporation, or a tribal non-profit, First Alaskans Institute (FAI) hosted the first Being Good Relatives Gathering on November 5, 2018.
Intended to be a space where tribal leaders, heads of various non-profits, and ANC leaders could come together and address the challenges and opportunities of working toward common goals, thoughtful dialogue was shared between all.
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A Proven Government Relations Advocate for ANCs
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Arent Fox was founded in 1942 on a simple idea: high‐quality legal counsel and personalized business advice could make all the difference. We don’t just flag problems, we offer solutions. That’s why we are a trusted advisor to the world’s top companies. When you work with Arent Fox, you get nimble, cost‐effective service from a firm that offers a deep bench and large law resources.
Arent Fox is a proud partner of ANVCA, and we look forward to continuing the work we do on behalf of native corporations.
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2018 Year-End Planning for Alaska Native Corporations
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Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) have been impacted by the monumental changes to the federal tax code. To maximize tax savings and ensure compliance with the new rules, ANCs need to engage in year-end planning conversations now to consider all possibilities to effectively lower your total tax liability.
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U.S. Army to Repatriate Remains of Students Who Died at Boarding School
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The U.S. Army will repatriate remains of young students buried at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. The school’s mission was to remove children from their culture and assimilate them into mainstream American culture. The boarding school operated between 1879 and 1918. More than 10,000 Native American children were required upon arrival to have their braids cut off and dress in military style uniforms in an effort to stamp out their heritage. Students were punished for speaking their native language and were given new names.
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Faced with crippling energy costs throughout Interior Alaska and dwindling Cook Inlet natural gas reserves in the Southcentral region of the state, Alaska’s Legislature created the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) in 2010 to pursue the design and permitting of the Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline (ASAP) project. Through development of infrastructure to treat and transport North Slope natural gas, the Legislature envisioned the ASAP project providing affordable, low-carbon, energy security to Alaskans for residential and industrial use.
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Community Service in Bethel
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Visiting Bethel you immediately feel a sense of community. You feel that this is a place where people care about one another. Food Bank of Alaska went to visit the community as part of our strategic plan to help alleviate hunger in rural Alaska.
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Goldbelt wins competitive U.S. Army contract
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ANVCA would like to sincerely congratulate our Partner organization, Goldbelt, Inc., for being awarded the competitive Human Resource Solutions – Personal Lifecycle Support (HRS-PLS) contract from the U.S. Army. Worth $6.1 billion, the contract’s performance period is five years with the option one five-year contract extension. The contract allows them to perform a variety of human resources-related work, from high-level security services to processing military benefits to hiring civilian employees.
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President Trump Signs “Small Business Runway Extension Act”
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President Trump signed
H.R. 6330
, the “Small Business Runway Extension Act” into law on December 17, 2018. The Small Business Runway Extension Act modifies the SBA reporting requirements so that businesses would be classified as small based on their average earnings over five years, instead of three. The classification is used to determine eligibility for certain Small Business Administration resources, programs, and assistance, including for winning federal contracts.
This will provide more certainty to small businesses as they ramp up their operations and grow over time. It will also help ensure that businesses are more prepared for the stronger competition should they choose to expand past the small business category.
The bill was sponsored by Representative Steve Knight (R-CA-25), and passed the House on July 18
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and the Senate on December 12
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For more information, please contact NACA Government Affairs Manager, Rebecca Seewald at
[email protected]
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Upcoming Events in 2019
January 15, 2019: Alaska Small Business Award 2019
Nomination Period CLOSES!
January 25th, 2019: ANCSA Panel Series - Taking the Reins - A New Generation
A panel discussion moderated by Hallie Bissett
Panelists include:
- Jason Metrokin, CEO of Bristol Bay
- Melissa Kookesh, Board Chair of Kootznoowoo
- Doug Fifer, Vice Chair of the CIRI Board
- Dena Sommer-Pedebone, CEO Gana-A'Yoo Limited
February 11-15, 2019: ANVCA's 2019 Juneau Fly-In
- Registration information available in the coming weeks.
May 8-9, 2019: ANVCA's 11th Annual Business Conference
Stay tuned for announcements on our monthly Fishnet luncheons! We're working on an exciting line-up for the coming year!
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Amlertut Kiaget!
May you enjoy a happy holiday season and a great New Year to come!
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