Timeline / Citizenship, Services, and Sovereignty / 1958: Alaska Native land claims complicate Alaska statehood
1958: Alaska Native land claims complicate Alaska statehood
Alaska becomes the 49th state in the United States. With statehood comes a federal mandate to specify what portion of federal lands Alaska wants to designate as state lands, but the federal holdings are encumbered by Alaska Native land claims, and the establishment of state lands must await a federal settlement.
- Theme
- Land and Water
- Region
- Arctic, Northwest Coast, Subarctic
Governor Mike Stepovich of Alaska holding a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times trumpeting the passage of the Alaskan statehood bill. He is standing between President Eisenhower and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Frederick Seaton.
Courtesy Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks