An Alaskan tribe, the Tlingit & Haida, has taken the action to put land into federal trust.
President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska signed the deed at the regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Anchorage. BIA officials and tribal staff members were in attendance.
This action transfers the land to the Department of the Interior to be held in trust in perpetuity for the tribe.
The tribe bought the land in 2007. It is located in the Old Juneau Indian Village.
At the ceremony Peterson declared, “This is a benchmark achievement in our land back initiative.” He added, “After many years of waiting, we finally have land that will be held in perpetuity for our tribe, land which has been rightfully ours since time immemorial. The parcel may have a small footprint, but it is huge in terms of what this means to the tribe. I am hopeful the Department of the Interior will approve our remaining applications.”
