SHI LECTURE TO HIGHLIGHT ALASKA NATIVE LAND CLAIMS HISTORY

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a lecture this week as part of its ongoing fall series, featuring prominent voices in Indigenous knowledge, art and culture, wildlife conservation and science.

The event will feature Emil Notti, the first president of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) and a key architect of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), who will share his firsthand perspective on the landmark legislation that transformed Alaska Native rights.

In his lecture, Notti will discuss the movement that led to the passage of ANCSA in 1971. Drawing from his experiences as AFN’s founding president, he will share insights into the grassroots organizing, strategic planning and complex negotiations that secured the largest Indigenous land claims settlement in U.S. history.

Throughout his distinguished career, Notti has served as commissioner of the Alaska Departments of Health and Social Services; Community and Regional Affairs and Commerce, Community and Economic Development. He has also served as president of Doyon, Limited, and at age 89 was called back to public service as Alaska’s commissioner of Commerce, Community and Economic Development in 2022. His advocacy for Alaska Native rights spans more than five decades.

The lecture is scheduled for noon, Thursday, Nov. 7, in Shuká Hít within the Walter Soboleff Building, 105 Heritage Way, in Juneau. The event will be livestreamed and posted on SHI’s YouTube channel.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.

CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

Caption: Emil Notti giving a lecture at Sealaska Heritage Institute in 2019. Photo by Nobu Koch, courtesy of SHI. Note: News outlets are welcome to use this photo for coverage of this story. For a higher resolution version, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.