The 13th Regional Corporation
The 13th Regional Corporation is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of Indigenous land claims. It was incorporated in Alaska on December 31, 1975. The 13th Regional Corporation is a for-profit corporation presently headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with approximately 5,500 Alaska Native shareholders of Eskimo, American Indian, and Aleut descent. Its original enrollment was of Alaska Natives who were no longer resident in Alaska. Unlike the other 12 Alaska Native regional corporations, The 13th Regional Corporation and its shareholders received only monetary compensation, with no land conveyance, in settlement of aboriginal land claims. The 13th Regional Corporation was involuntarily dissolved by the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing of the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development on December 31, 2013. This followed the resignation of the corporation's registered agent on May 22, 2013. A website claiming no affiliation with The 13th Regional Corporation or its shareholders is attempting to locate shareholders with the intent of "attempt[ing] to revive The 13th Regional Corporation and restore it to working order." Creation of the 13th Regional Corporation Initially only 12 regional corporations were created after ANCSA's passage in 1971. Its creation was dependent upon how many of approximately 78,000 Alaska Native people eligible for enrollment under ANCSA voted "yes" on Section 22 of the official enrollment form, which read, "Do you elect to establish and be enrolled in a 13th Region?" The initial determination of the Bureau of Indian Affairs was that an insufficient number of enrollees voted for creation of a 13th regional corporation, and each of the "yes" voters was instead designated as a shareholder in one of the original 12 regional corporations. However, a 1975 U.S. District Court ruling by Judge Oliver Gasch overturned the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The 13th Regional Corporation was created under Alaska law as a private for-profit corporation on December 31, 1975. Officers and directors A current listing of The 13th Regional Corporation's officers and directors, as well as documents filed with the State of Alaska since The 13th's incorporation, are available online through the Corporations Database of the Division of Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. Shareholders At incorporation, The 13th Regional Incorporation enrolled 4,537 Alaska Natives, each of whom received 100 shares of corporate stock. The corporation currently has approximately 5,500 shareholders. As an ANCSA corporation, The 13th Regional Corporation has no publicly traded stock and its shares cannot legally be sold, bartered, or traded. With very limited exception, they can only be passed to the descendants of Alaska Natives. Problems with corporate management Initially, the corporation was provided $52 million in settlement money, half of which was disbursed to shareholders. The corporation for investment on behalf of its shareholders retained the remainder. However, the corporation's early losses led to charges of mismanagement of corporate assets. According to a 1998 special report by the newspaper Juneau Empire, the 13th