A Dangerous Idea: The Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Struggle for Indigenous Rights by Peter Metcalfe with Kathy Kolkhorst Ruddy (review)

METCALFE’S PUBLICATION EXAMINES THE HISTORY of the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and its influence on aboriginal land rights legislation that eventually led to Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The book’s main premise is that “without the Alaska Native Brotherhood there would have been few if any Native claims to settle after Alaska became a state” (xiv). The notion of Indigenous claims as “a dangerous idea” is addressed in the book’s introduction, in that aboriginal rights and citizenship rights were thought to be mutually exclusive; that is, if aboriginal rights were recognized, this might circumvent full, “first class” U.S. citizenship rights for Alaska Native peoples.

Chapter 1 begins by exploring the legal concept of “aboriginal title” within the Alaskan context, beginning with a historical analysis of the appropriation of fishing, hunting, and other land use rights in southeast Alaska that provided the impetus for the organization of the Alaska Native Brotherhood in 1912. The familiar phrase “time immemorial” is explained within the context of the Tlingit and Haida Indians suit that validated “exclusive use and occupancy since time immemorial” (8) as related to aboriginal rights.

The second chapter begins with a discussion of Alaska Natives’ marginalized, conflicted status in the early 1900s and the influence of Presbyterian and Russian Orthodox principles on the early members of the ANB. The concept of “civilized” as applied to Alaska Natives is explored through a brief case study of Alaska Native leader Rudolph Walton. The influence of William Paul—the first Alaska Native to earn a law degree and serve in the territorial legislature—is examined in some depth.

“Suing the Government” documents changes within and challenges to the ANB as they attempted to meet the provisions of the Jurisdictional Act of 1935. The chapter examines two suits filed by Tee-Hit-Ton Indians, and Tlingit and Haida Indians. The Tee-Hit-Ton suit, filed by William Paul and his sons, pursued compensation for clans, hypothesizing that “Alaska Natives had never been ‘tribal members’ . . . and, as provided for in the U.S. Constitution, the property of citizens could not be taken without due process and fair compensation” (38). Though this suit failed, the decision by the U.S. Court of Claims confirmed the existence of aboriginal title in Alaska (despite the absence of treaties). In 1959 the U.S. Court of Claims ruled in favor of Tlingit and Haida Indians, finding that southeast Alaska Natives did have uncompensated claims as “aboriginal title . . . had been extinguished by the extra-legal action of the U.S. government in creating . . . the Tongass National Forest and Glacier Bay National Monument” (39).

Chapter 4 examines the reservations in Alaska; although Alaska Natives recognized that reservations could provide exclusive title to land and waters and “might be the only opportunity . . . to reclaim land” (51), most Alaska Natives were against establishment of reservations, as these were seen as barriers to self-determination.

Racism in Alaska is explored in chapter 5, including reference to one of the earliest pieces of civil rights legislation in the nation, the Anti- Discrimination Act of 1945. Also examined is the termination movement, which would have abolished “the special relationship between the federal government and Native Americans” (60) with the effort extending to aboriginal claims. “Extinguishment” of aboriginal title that forefronted Alaska Natives’ rights to “due compensation” is further discussed in chapter 6. ANB opposition to early statehood legislation that limited their rights to land is also examined in some detail. “Statehood and Native Claims” further discusses the effects of Tlingit and Haida Indians and Tee-Hit-Ton on “unrecognized aboriginal title” and “uncompensated claims” during the statehood movement. Also referenced is William Paul’s involvement as legal counsel in the Inupiaq organization of the North Slope Borough, and the “land freeze” that halted state land selection and oil lease sales until aboriginal claims could be resolved.

A Dangerous...