Spoiler Alert: A fallen tree does make a sound. But only when the audiences’ interest is piqued is it heard.

COVID-19 CARES Act $$ – Tribes v. Treasury

Tomorrow is a much anticipated showdown in Washington DC US District Court. In this round though, Alaska Native Corporations interests are allowed to be heard, as it should be.

I have a professional history that afforded me a broadened experience. A part of that is that I know where to look for interesting bits of information. As some may know, I spearheaded the effort to protect the Sitnasuak Native Corporation family of companies in 2009/2010. That included bringing the family of companies back into compliance with SBA 8(a) and a host of other federal agency regulations that were not being followed in the spirit of the law.

This was an extensive effort, a significant financial investment, that led to a rapid evolution of the organizational infrastructure being put into place. All of these steps were implemented to ensure that Sitnasuak would not fall prey to bad actors again.

However, what could not be changed, and what was voted down by the Sitnasuak shareholders was the proxy initiative to require a higher standard in the qualifications and eligibility to run and serve on the corporation’s board of directors. Every organization reflects on its SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. This qualification issue I believe to be a weakness and a threat.

The qualification/eligibility problem is under my microscope. I hoped for the best of the players that gained control of the corporation. I hoped that the violations of election regulations they instituted in their campaign toolbox, were motivated because of a personal dislike of the members they targeted. I held onto hope that they would not carry out their pattern of violating regulations because they reached their goal to control the board.

I fear that I was holding on to a false hope.

From my novice point of view, I believe that the current leadership at Sitnasuak abolished following “the spirit of the law” and are repeating shady practices similar to what happened before. Unfortunately, when they gained control, the backslide to shady business practices, when dealing with the federal government, has been fast.

This is what I have found, my personal opinion and analysis of what I found. There are 3 separate examples.

1. COVID-19 CARES Act set off extremely important discussions of Indian Law in national forums and courts right now. The crux of the issue in question is the eligibility of Alaska Native Corporations for CARES Act funding distributions by the Department of Treasury.

So what does this have to do with the current leadership of Sitnasuak or Sitnasuak at all?

Sitnasuak Native Corporation updated their registration in http://www.sam.gov on May 18, 2020. This is necessary to receive federal funds, whether they are grants, contracts, etc. The link below will bring you to http://www.sam.gov that shows the registration of Sitnasuak Native Corporation.

Sitnasuak Native Corporation submitted this registration and with that certifies it to be true and correct. But Sitnasuak registered as a Tribal Government.

If you follow my blog, you already know my opinions about a host of things. One is that in Alaska, we assert our rights to Self-Govern in ways that we choose, no one outside gets to force their will upon us, tribe or otherwise. However, a Tribal Government has a different tax status than Sitnasuak Native Corporation. Tribal Governments are non-profit entities that provide social services. Sitnasuak is a different corporate vehicle created out of Self-Governance decisions that resulted from the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

My opinion is that this filing is made up of ‘false and misleading’ information in an effort to bypass this national debate and to receive this funding under a false light.

Why do I come to this conclusion?

Because this group was not held accountable for violating State of Alaska Banking and Security Regulations the oversees ANCSA Corporation elections. This lack of accountability, I believe, has emboldened them to continue their practice of freely certifying false and misleading statements to get whatever it is they next want. In this case, that appears to be by asserting the corporation is a tribal government.

In comparison, I also looked up Chenega Corporation’s sam.gov filing. Chenega is argualbly the most successful Alaska Native Village Corporation. Chenega filed their sam.gov registration lawfully and certified that the information was correct and true. Chenega does not falsely claim it is a Tribal Government.