A Business Entity By Any Other Name: Corporation, Community and Kinship

• Main Author: Vazquez, Christian G.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Duke University School of Law 2016
• Subjects: Law; Alaska law review; Alaska
• Online Access: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/alr/vol33/iss2/10; https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1521&context=alr

Forty-five years ago, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act resolved outstanding land claims between the federal and state government and Alaska Natives. The fund created by the settlement was used as seed money to establish the Alaska Native Corporations. The Native corporations have particular features which make them distinct from other business entities, these differences have been lauded by some shareholders but have simultaneously drawn ire from others. In 2015 the Alaska legislature introduced H.B. 49, a benefit corporation bill that would allow entrepreneurs to pursue both profits and social ends. This note traces the rise of the modern Alaska Native Corporation. It then weighs the merits of each business entity and assesses which is best aligned to improve the lives of Alaska Natives.