Alaska Native and Environmental Law Class

May 31 - July 26, 2012

Alaska Natives and Environmental Law (4 credit hours)

Professor Stephanie M. Nichols, Professor Sam Kalen.

Part 1: Alaska Native Law (Nichols)
Alaska Natives hold a unique legal status distinct from Indian tribes in the Lower 48 due in large part to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) which changed the landscape of Alaska Natives forever. This part of the course will explore sovereignty and unique Constitutional questions that pertain to Alaska Natives, with special attention given to ANCSA. The first part of the course will focus on the background of the federal relationship between the United States and Native Americans and its relation to Alaska. The class will then explore ANCSA and whether Indian Country, as defined by federal statute and United States Supreme Court opinions, exists in Alaska. The class will also examine subsistence hunting and fishing, how it is defined and managed differently by the state and federal governments, with a special emphasis on relevant environmental issues. Finally, the class will discuss aspects of tribal hiring preferences and other Constitutional issues that impact Alaska Natives and distinguish these preferences and issues from Native Americans in the Lower 48. Throughout the summer, the class will also incorporate issues and events currently happening in Alaska.

Part 2: Alaska Environmental Law (Kalen)
Alaska is noted for its extraordinary beauty, and for being home to many unique and unusual plants and animals. Large swaths of its land are owned by the federal government, or are held by Native Alaskan tribes. This makes environmental law in Alaska particularly interesting and important. This part of the class will explore environmental issues with a uniquely Alaskan bent, from the environmental impacts and laws concerning the drilling for oil in the arctic tundra (ANWR), to preservation of unique salmon runs and endangered wildlife. The class will begin with a discussion of the Alaskan environment and major issues concerning that environment. The class will then have a review of important environmental laws, paying particular attention to the environmental and natural resources laws that have particular effect in Alaska, such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and laws governing the use of federal lands. The class will also examine aspects of Administrative Law, International treaties that deal with resource use in Alaska, and laws governing Native Alaskans and Native Alaskan lands that have an effect on environmental law in Alaska. The class will end with a particular focus on the current issues of drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife National Refuge, and the future of commercial fishing in Alaska.

Class Schedule
The class will be held Monday through Thursday, beginning Wednesday, May 31 to July 26 on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. Class will be held from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.