§ 1604. — Enrollment.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC1604]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 33--ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
Sec. 1604. Enrollment
(a) Eligible Natives; finality of decision
The Secretary shall prepare within two years from December 18, 1971,
a roll of all Natives who were born on or before, and who are living on,
December 18, 1971. Any decision of the Secretary regarding eligibility
for enrollment shall be final.
(b) Residence; order of priority in enrollment of Natives not permanent
residents; regional family or hardship enrollment
The roll prepared by the Secretary shall show for each Native, among
other things, the region and the village or other place in which he
resided on the date of the 1970 census enumeration, and he shall be
enrolled according to such residence. Except as provided in subsection
(c) of this section, a Native eligible for enrollment who is not, when
the roll is prepared, a permanent resident of one of the twelve regions
established pursuant to section 1606(a) of this title shall be enrolled
by the Secretary in one of the twelve regions, giving priority in the
following order to--
(1) the region where the Native resided on the 1970 census date
if he had resided there without substantial interruption for two or
more years;
(2) the region where the Native previously resided for an
aggregate of ten years or more;
(3) the region where the Native was born; and
(4) the region from which an ancestor of the Native came: \1\
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\1\ So in original. The colon probably should be a period.
The Secretary may enroll a Native in a different region when necessary
to avoid enrolling members of the same family in different regions or
otherwise avoid hardship.
(c) Election of enrollment in thirteenth region, if established, of
Native nonresidents; dependent household members as bound
A Native eligible for enrollment who is eighteen years of age or
older and is not a permanent resident of one of the twelve regions may,
on the date he files an application for enrollment, elect to be enrolled
in a thirteenth region for Natives who are non-residents of Alaska, if
such region is established pursuant to section 1606(c) of this title. If
such region is not established, he shall be enrolled as provided in
subsection (b) of this section. His election shall apply to all
dependent members of his household who are less than eighteen years of
age, but shall not affect the enrollment of anyone else.
(Pub. L. 92-203, Sec. 5, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 690.)
Late Enrollment of Otherwise Qualified Natives
Pub. L. 94-204, Sec. 1, Jan. 2, 1976, 89 Stat. 1145, provided:
``That (a) the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this Act
[enacting sections 1625 to 1627 of this title, amending sections 1615,
1616, 1620, and 1621 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as
notes under sections 1604, 1605, 1611, 1613, 1618, and 1625 of this
title] referred to as the `Secretary') is directed to review those
applications submitted within one year from the date of enactment of
this Act [Jan. 2, 1976] by applicants who failed to meet the March 30,
1973, deadline for enrollment established by the Secretary pursuant to
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (hereinafter in this Act
referred to as the `Settlement Act') [this chapter], and to enroll those
Natives under the provisions of that Act who would have been qualified
if the March 30, 1973, deadline had been met: Provided, That Natives
enrolled under this Act shall be issued stock under the Settlement Act
together with a pro rata share of all future distributions under the
Settlement Act which shall commence beginning with the next regularly
scheduled distribution after the enactment of this Act: Provided
further, That land entitlement of any Native village, Native group,
Village Corporation, or Regional Corporation, all as defined in such
Act, shall not be affected by any enrollment pursuant to this Act, and
that no tribe, band, clan, group, village, community, or association not
otherwise eligible for land or other benefits as a `Native village', as
defined in such Act, shall become eligible for land or other benefits as
a Native village because of any enrollment pursuant to this Act:
Provided further, That no tribe, band, clan, village, community, or
village association not otherwise eligible for land or other benefits as
a `Native group', as defined in such Act, shall become eligible for land
or other benefits as a Native group because of any enrollment pursuant
to this Act: And provided further, That any `Native group', as defined
in such Act, shall not lose its status as a Native group because of any
enrollment pursuant to this Act.
``(b) The Secretary is authorized to poll individual Natives
properly enrolled to Native villages or Native groups which are not
recognized as Village Corporations under section 11 of the Settlement
Act [section 1610 of this title] and which are included within the
boundaries of former reserves the Village Corporation or Corporations of
which elected to acquire title to the surface and subsurface estate of
said reserves pursuant to subsection 19(b) of the Settlement Act
[section 1618(b) of this title]. The Secretary may allow these
individuals the option to enroll to a Village Corporation which elected
the surface and subsurface title under section 19(b) or remain enrolled
to the Regional Corporation in which the village or group is located on
an at-large basis: Provided, That nothing in this subsection shall
affect existing entitlement to land of any Regional Corporation pursuant
to section 12(b) or 14(h)(8) of the Settlement Act [section 1611(b) or
1613(h)(8) of this title].
``(c) In those instances where, on the roll prepared under section 5
of the Settlement Act [this section], there were enrolled as residents
of a place on April 1, 1970, a sufficient number of Natives required for
a Native village or Native group, as the case may be, and it is
subsequently and finally determined that such place is not eligible for
land benefits under the Act on grounds which include a lack of
sufficient number of residents, the Secretary shall; in accordance with
the criteria for residence applied in the final determination of
eligibility, redetermine the place of residence on April 1, 1970, of
each Native enrolled to such place, and the place of residence as so
redetermined shall be such Native's place of residence on April 1, 1970,
for all purposes under the Settlement Act: Provided, That each Native
whose place of residence on April 1, 1970, is changed by reason of this
subsection shall be issued stock in the Native corporation or
corporations in which such redetermination entitles him to membership
and all stock issued to such Native by any Native Corporation in which
he is no longer eligible for membership shall be deemed canceled:
Provided further, That no redistribution of funds made by any Native
Corporation on the basis of prior places of residence shall be affected:
Provided further, That land entitlements of any Native village, Native
group, Village Corporation, Regional Corporation, or corporations
organized by Natives residing in Sitka, Kenai, Juneau, or Kodiak, all as
defined in said Act, shall not be affected by any determination of
residence made pursuant to this subsection, and no tribe, band, clan,
group, village community, or association not otherwise eligible for land
or other benefits as a `Native group' as defined in said Act, shall
become eligible for land or other benefits as a Native group because of
any redetermination of residence pursuant to this subsection: Provided
further, That any distribution of funds from the Alaska Native Fund
pursuant to subsection (c) of section 6 of the Settlement Act [section
1605(c) of this title] made by the Secretary or his delegate prior to
any redetermination of residency shall not be affected by the provisions
of this subsection. Each Native whose place of residence is subject to
redetermination as provided in this subsection shall be given notice and
an opportunity for hearing in connection with such redetermination as
shall any Native Corporation which it appears may gain or lose
stockholders by reason of such redetermination of residence.''
Establishment by Court Order of 13th Regional Corporation for Benefit of
Nonpermanent Residents; Land Selection Entitlements; Previously Issued
Stock; Election for Enrollment; Land Entitlements of Corporations or
Native Village or Group Eligibility
Pub. L. 94-204, Sec. 8, Jan. 2, 1976, 89 Stat. 1149, provided that:
``(a) Notwithstanding the October 6, 1975, order of the United
States District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of Alaska
Native Association of Oregon et al. against Rogers C. B. Morton et al.,
Civil Action Numbered 2133-73, and Alaska Federation of Natives
International, Inc., et al. against Rogers C. B. Morton, et al., Civil
Action Numbered 2141-73 (-- F. Supp. --) [417 F. Supp. 459], changes in
enrollments of any Alaska Regional or Village Corporation nor any Native
village or group eligibility.
``(b) Stock previously issued by any of the twelve Regional
Corporations in Alaska or by Village Corporations to any Native who is
enrolled in the thirteenth region pursuant to said order shall, upon
said enrollment, be canceled by the issuing corporation without
liability to it or the Native whose stock is so canceled: Provided,
That, in the event that a Native enrolled in the thirteenth region
pursuant to said order shall elect to re-enroll in the appropriate
Regional Corporation in Alaska pursuant to the sixth ordering paragraph
of that order, stock of such Native may be canceled by the Thirteenth
Regional Corporation and stock may be issued to such Native by the
appropriate Regional Corporation in Alaska without liability to either
corporation or to the Native.
``(c) Whenever additional enrollment under the Settlement Act [this
chapter] is permitted pursuant to this Act [enacting sections 1625 to
1627 of this title, amending sections 1615, 1616, 1620, and 1621 of this
title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 1604,
1605, 1611, 1613, 1618, and 1625 of this title] or any other provision
of law, any Native enrolling under such authority who is determined not
to be a permanent resident of the State of Alaska under criteria
established pursuant to the Settlement Act shall, at the time of
enrollment, elect whether to be enrolled in the thirteenth region or in
the region determined pursuant to the provisions of section 5(b) of such
act [section 1604(b) of this title] and such election shall apply to all
dependent members of such Native's household who are less than eighteen
years of age on the date of such election.
``(d) No change in the final roll of Natives established by the
Secretary pursuant to section 5 of the Settlement Act [section 1604 of
this title] resulting from any regulation promulgated by the Secretary
of the Interior providing for the disenrollment of Natives shall affect
land entitlements of any Regional or Village Corporation or any Native
village or group eligibility.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1605, 1606 of this title.
