Native Business

Alaska Native regional corporations continued to grow their respective business revenues in 2008, specifically in the arenas of government contracting work, oilfield service work, and natural resource revenues stemming from production on Native-owned lands.
Cumulatively, the 12 Alaska Native regional corporations headquartered in the state reported $6.752 billion in total revenues for their fiscal year 2008 reporting periods, growing more than 18 percent over total revenues posted in 2007.
The Alaska Native regional corporations were created in 1971 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act as a structure to manage land and cash received for settling land claims prior to North Slope oilfield development and construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
On Alaska Business Monthly's Top 49ers listing, representing the Top 49 Alaskan-owned and -operated businesses in the state based on gross revenues, Native businesses topped the charts. Twelve of the 13 regional corporations were included on the listing. They ranked first for number of employees, with more than 13,000 Alaska employees and 55,000 worldwide employees.

Sources: Alaska Business Monthly, Sept. 2009, Patricia Liles; Alaska Business Monthly, Oct. 2009, Debbie Cutler