Date of Award
5-17-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Alaska's Tribes face complex challenges after disasters occur when contrasted with Native American Tribes in the continental United States. Federal disaster policies crafted under the Robert T. Stafford Act of 1988 were designed to streamline the coordination of disaster response and recovery for states, tribes, and local governments. These federal policies and their respective programs, though well intended, were conceptually designed to assist tribal governments and organizational structures most resembling those geographically located in the continental United States. They are not broadly applicable to the numerous organizational structures and distinct cultures of Alaska Natives today. In practice, most Alaska Tribes are required to work with and through the State of Alaska to fully receive certain programmatic benefits following federal disasters and, as a result, self-determination and tribal sovereignty are adversely impacted. This research questions the applicability of the Robert T. Stafford Act and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster policies when specifically applied to Alaska Tribes. It explores the role and impacts of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) on Alaska Natives when federal disasters occur, along with the potential long-term consequences for government-to-government relationships between Alaska Tribes and the United States, specifically FEMA. The findings and conclusions of this research will be instrumental to enhancing relationships between Alaska's Tribes and the United States when disasters occur.
Recommended Citation
Pennington, John E., "Sovereign disasters: how Alaska's tribes participate in government-to-government relations in a post-disaster environment" (2023). Indigenous Studies. 50.
https://ualaska.researchcommons.org/uaf_grad_indigenous_studies/50
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/13245