Minchumina Natives, Inc. v. United States Department of Interior
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Canby, J.
Minchumina Natives, Inc. (“MNI”), a group of seven Alaska Natives claiming to reside near Lake Minchumina, Alaska, seeks recognition as a “Native group” under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANC-SA), 43 U.S.C. §§ 1601-1629 . MNI can qualify as a “Native group” only if its Native members “comprise a majority of the residents of the locality.” Id. at § 1602(d); see Chugach Alaska Corp. v. Lujan, 915 F.2d 454, 457-58 (9th Cir.1990). Whether they constitute a majority depends entirely upon how the boundaries of “the locality5’ are drawn; those boundaries are the subject of this appeal.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs initially accepted the narrow boundaries claimed by MNI, which enclosed the smallest area that included all of the members’ residences. Those boundaries, however, were expanded by an administrative law judge and then again by the Interior Board of Land Appeals. After disqualifying those who were not resident on the crucial date of April 1, 1970, the Board found that the expanded locality included four Natives and six non-Natives. It accordingly denied recognition of MNI as a Native group. The district court affirmed, and MNI appeals.