469 



The coalition which I represent today, as an Alaskan 

 corporation, has coordinated this effort and will serve to 

 achieve a settlement which is acceptable to its membership. 



We have waited nearly twenty years for the promise of 

 reconveyance to become a reality. We have strong 

 conviction that the Tongass legislation before you will 

 provide the appropriate vehicle to resolve these claims, and 

 we hope Congress will provide that legislative solution. We 

 finnly believe that our claims should now be acted upon 

 through negotiation. 



Resolution of these existing claims will have a U*emendous 

 impact both directly on all Alaska Natives in Southeast and, 

 indirectly, on the region's population and economy as a 

 whole. 



We believe that reconveyance of our entitlements will 

 bolster and secure important subsistence and cultural values 

 while, at the same time, create balanced economic 

 opportunities for all of our region's residents. 



However, we wish to clearly state our acute awareness of 

 the great complexities in the Tongass debate. We fully 

 understand that all interested parties, including this coalition, 

 will have to negotiate a solution acceptable in view of the 

 checkerboard of competing interests at this table today. 



