It's not irrelevant, exactly, but the issues are different. I don't know much about ANSCA, honestly, but my impression is that that Alaska natives were already recognized tribal entities. In the case of Hawai'i, the tribal entity became a monarchy, which became a modernizing state, which was overthrown, and there was no reconstitution of a tribal structure after annexation. So the Akaka Bill is a necessary first step before Claims Settlement could even begin. One of the issues in the Akaka bill is the negotiation of claims settlement, and the presumption in the Bill is that there will be no claims to settle at this point: the Hawaiian Homelands and OHA and the trusts have quite a bit of resources; if they could be protected, there'd be no need for claims settlements.
by Jonathan Dresner on August 18, 2005 at 8:45 PM