Doyon’s 50-year anniversary will be June 26, 2022. As part of this celebration, Doyon will be sharing stories, highlights, and photos from past annual reports, newsletters, village corporations, shareholders, and leaders. To highlight your village or shareholders, contact Doyon Communications Department at communications@doyon.com.
The following was submitted by Larissa Sommer, Gana-A’Yoo’s Shareholder Newsletter Editor.
December 2021 marks 50 years since the passage of the historic Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Up until that time in U.S. history, it was the largest land claims settlement, and it forged a new way forward in federal Indian policy. It is also the origin of our Native corporations, which bind our people together. On December 18, 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the act that created 12 Alaska Native regional corporations as well as over 200 for-profit village corporations. The act compensated corporations with $962.5 million and 44 million acres of land while extinguishing aboriginal land claims. The corporations are owned by Alaska Native shareholders.
Our ancestors, who prospered on the lands in the area of what is now considered the villages of Galena, Koyukuk, Nulato, and Kaltag, lived a nomadic lifestyle, sharing resources to ensure the success of our lineage. In line with those same traditional values, the village corporations of Notaaghleedin, Limited; Mineelghaadza’, Limited; Nik’aghun, Limited, and Takathlee-tondin, Incorporated merged together in May 1978 to form Gana-A’Yoo, Limited, the Denaakk’e word for “friends together.”
Today, our corporation serves over 1,200 shareholders, has been named in the top 49 Alaska businesses two years in a row, and has six subsidiaries and four joint ventures spanning the state, country, and globe, all driven by the same mission: “Providing solutions for our customers across the globe through unparalleled passion reflecting our creativity and innovation, with respect for the environment and our traditional values.” A half-century of history has brought us to where we are today: from a small office in Galena to sending shareholders to work in Antarctica. Today, we are among the first village corporations in the Doyon region to consider opening enrollment to our descendants – passing the torch as our ancestors have done before us.
To learn more about Gana-A’Yoo, Limited, click here.
