H.R. 41 · Where this bill is now
In the Senate
Passed the House Jun 2, 2026. Received Jun 3, 2026; no Senate vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryAlaska Native villages gain recognition and land rights
This bill recognizes five Alaska Native communities in Southeast Alaska—Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell—by allowing them to form their own corporations. The Department of the Interior would transfer land to each community's corporation, including roads, trails, and facilities on that land. Each community could also create a settlement trust to support education, health, and welfare for its members while keeping their Alaska Native culture and heritage alive.
How it affects you
This change directly affects Alaska Native residents of these five communities, who would gain official recognition and control over land and resources in their areas. For others, this has no direct effect—it's a recognition and resource-sharing measure specific to these communities.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Jan 3, 2025)
Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act
This bill allows five Alaska Native communities in Southeast Alaska to form urban corporations and receive land entitlements.
Specifically, the bill allows the Alaska Native residents of each of the Alaska Native villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, Alaska, to organize as Alaska Native urban corporations and to receive certain settlement land.
The bill directs the Department of the Interior to convey specified land to each urban corporation. Further, Interior must convey the subsurface estate for that land to the regional corporation for Southeast Alaska.
The land conveyed to each urban corporation must include any U.S. interest in all roads, trails, log transfer facilities, leases, and appurtenances on or related to the land conveyed to the urban corporation.
The bill also allows each urban corporation to establish a settlement trust to (1) promote the health, education, and welfare of the trust beneficiaries; and (2) preserve the Alaska Native heritage and culture of their communities.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 41
AN ACT
Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act
Sponsor: Rep. Nicholas Begich (R-AK-At Large) · Introduced Jan 3, 2025 · Native Americans · 3 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jun 3, 2026: “Received in the Senate.”
Numbers that changed
Dollar amounts, dates and percentages, taken word for word from the text| Section | Where | Before | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sec. 6Date | Compensation…Tenakee Selections, numbered 1 through 3, and dated June 27, 2025; and (V) to the Urban Corporation for…Introduced → Committee version | April 19, 2023 | June 27, 2025 |
Listed only when one value replaced another and the surrounding words stayed the same. Open a section to read the full wording.