Enactment of ANCSA became one of the country's most significant pieces of social legislation in this century and certainly became watershed legislation for national policy related to Native Americans. In the years that followed, Congress enacted the Indian Self-Determination Act, The Indian Education Act, the Indian Finance Act and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

How ANCSA was accomplished is a matter of importance to all who are interested in Alaska Native history, Alaska history and Native American policy. While several fine books have been written on this subject, the history is relatively little understood or studied. And perhaps most importantly, it is still evolving.

To help capture this history, some of it fading as the original architects of ANCSA age, the University of Alaska Anchorage joined the Alaska Federation of Natives and Cook Inlet Region Inc. to host a celebration of the enactment of ANCSA. Elders and original architects gathered for an evening rich in oral history and reminiscing. UAA filmed that evening and captured individual interviews with ANCSA participants.

UAA is also filming the series of four Saturday seminars, "ANCSA Revisited: A Fair and Just Settlement." The public is invited on the third Saturday of March and April to the remaining two free seminars to listen to panels of key players in ANCSA as they explore the intricacies of this legislation and its related politics.

Organized by the UAA Alaska Native Studies program, with additional sponsorships from Koniag Inc., Arctic Slope Regional Corp. and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, these seminars are also being filmed. Current plans call for the contents of the seminar panelists' remarks to be posted on the UAA LitSite Web page. UAA's Alaska Native Studies Program also offers full semester courses related to ANCSA.

Aware of the pressing necessity of preserving Alaska's young history, UAA is dedicating a room in its Library of the 21st Century to house documents and materials related to historic legislation. We intend to include a copy of the video of the ANCSA Revisited seminars and videos of the 30th anniversary celebration.

I had the privilege to work with Native leaders from all regions of Alaska as they negotiated the final terms of the ANCSA legislation and began the awesome task of planning for its implementation. The list of required actions seemed almost insurmountable: Every Alaska Native of one quarter or more blood who was alive and born on or before Dec. 18, 1971 was to be enrolled as a shareholder in the yet to be formed village and/or regional corporations.

Native leaders had to petition for villages to be certified as eligible to receive benefits under the act. They had to craft articles of incorporation and bylaws for their corporations and begin to organize themselves as functioning corporations. In short order they were to hold annual meetings, elect officers, and hire staff and consultants to carry out the work of the newly constituted corporations. They also had to set about selecting 40 million acres of land in conformance with terms and conditions prescribed in the legislation.

Then came the challenge of making 200 plus villages and 13 regional corporations into profit-making entities. Few Native leaders had corporation experience, and many villages and regions had very few local role models to look to for guidance.

All of the corporations went through serious growing pains. The initial capitalization was small, and land transfers were delayed. Many corporations lost money in the early years, though none went formally bankrupt, and Native lands remained under Native control. The infusion of new capital through the federally sanctioned sale of net operating losses to the Native corporations enabled many corporations to find sound financial footing. A number of Native corporations subsequently emerged to be among Alaska's largest corporations today.

Without question, ANCSA left much work to be done. It did not secure for Alaska Natives the desired right to fish and hunt in perpetuity, nor did it resolve numerous issues related to self-governance. Nonetheless, it was a historic accomplishment.

It is our hope at UAA that those who played a role in ANCSA's enactment and implementation will want to preserve its history by donating documents, materials and memorabilia to UAA's Library of the 21st Century, which will have a groundbreaking this spring. It is our goal to help create a treasured legacy of ANCSA and its legislative history from which future generations will benefit.

Lee Gorsuch is chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage. He can be reached at 907-786-1437.