Our History 2

At the turn of the twentieth century there were increasing numbers of non-Native people coming through the traditional territories of the Athabascan people, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson authorized the construction of the Alaska Railroad. This was when the Athabascan Chiefs within the region began the early effort to protect our lands and resources. Tired of outsiders encroaching on our traditional homelands, the Chiefs organized a meeting to denounce the construction of the Alaska Railroad and to protect traditional burial grounds in Nenana.

In the summer of 1915, the Athabascan Chiefs from the lower Tanana River met with Judge James Wickersham, Alaska’s delegate to Congress, at a historic meeting of Native leaders in Fairbanks. This meeting marked the start of a formal relationship with Athabascan Tribes and the United States government. During the meeting, the Chief’s clearly expressed their priorities to sustain our villages through employment, education, health care, and land protection; the land protection was specifically for traditional subsistence hunting and fishing and for access management.

Chief Alexander of Tolovana, Chief William of Tanana, Chief Thomas of Nenana, Paul Williams of Tanana Chief Evan of Cosjacket, Chief Charlie of Minto, Chief Alexander William of Tanana, Johnnie Folger of Tanana, Jacob Starr of Tanana, Julius Pilot of Nenana, Titus Alexander of Manley Hot Springs, Chief John of Chena Village, Chief Joe of Salchaket, and Albert of Tanana were the delegates representing the Athabascan people.

During the Congressional debate on Statehood for Alaska, members of Congress were concerned about the financial viability of the proposed state. This is because the conventional means of taxing individuals and businesses was expected to be inadequate based on the size of Alaska and the small and widely dispersed population. The Alaska Statehood Act was passed in July 1958, and the new state government was thus granted 103.5 million acres of land by the federal government as a source of financing for state government.

Across Alaska, Indigenous Athabascan, Inupiaq, Yup’ik, Cup’ik, Unangax, Sugpiaq, Eyak, Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlingit continued living our traditional lifestyles, even throughout the forty year-push for Statehood. Through these complex policy discussions, Alaska Natives were acknowledged but ignored. For example, the aboriginal claim to our traditional territories, established by continuous and exclusive use and occupancy of tribal lands was acknowledged in Section 4 of the Alaska Statehood Act. Yet the newly formed government began the process of land selection with disregard for traditional Native land ownership. This set up the Alaska Native fight for recognized land ownership, and the subsequent negotiated settlement for aboriginal land claims in Alaska.

The discovery of commercial quantities of oil on the North Slope elevated the land claims debate in the late 60s, as the prospect of oil exploration and development was put on hold due to Alaska Native land freezes throughout the state. Coming from the state and oil industry, in addition to the Alaska Native people, the pressure for Congress to reach a land claims settlement was at an all-time high.

After years of debate, compromise, and frequent travels to and from D.C by Alaska Native leaders, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) on December 18, 1971. This extinguished aboriginal land titles in Alaska and awarded 44 million acres of land and $962.5 million to more than 200 villages and 13 regional corporations.

ANCSA was a system that redefined federal Indian policy and mandated that both regional and village corporations be owned and enrolled by Alaska Native shareholders ─ placing corporate ownership into the hands of Alaska Natives.

Through ANCSA, 12.5 million acres of land and $54.4 million dollars were allocated to Doyon, Limited.

While holding the largest amount of land out of all of the regional Alaska Native Corporations, Doyon, Limited’s boundaries incorporate features that are unique to the region. Doyon leadership took on the monumental task of analyzing what lands would be exemplary for future resource development, what lands would be protected as sacred and historic sites and would map out subsistence areas for land selections.

In addition to 37 villages and 26 village corporations, Doyon also has within its boundaries the tallest mountain in North America, four military bases, the longest rivers in the state, the second largest city (Fairbanks), and the largest number of highways. The Doyon region also has as a boundary the Canadian border, and also borders seven other Alaska Native regional corporations

Shareholders play a vital role in shaping Doyon’s future. Your involvement ensures Doyon’s strength and success for generations to come.

As a Doyon shareholder, you have important rights that allow you to contribute to the corporation’s success:

• Elect directors to the Doyon, Limited Board of Directors.
• Vote on any questions presented to shareholders.
• Receive distributions from the corporation based on the number of shares owned.
• Preserve your legacy by passing Class A, B, and D shares to the next generation through a completed stock will.

As a Doyon shareholder, it is your responsibility to play an active role in shaping the corporation’s future:

• Keep Doyon informed on any changes in name, address, or life events.
• Keep contact information updated to receive essential voting information, distributions, direct deposits, newsletters, and other corporate information.
• Vote to elect directors that are in alignment with your values. 

Doyon’s legacy continues with your active participation—together, we build a stronger future while celebrating our past.