CULTURAL TOURISM AND ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGE CORPORATIONS.

• Author: MIDDLETON, SAUNDRA

Native village corporations are succeeding in the tourism market despite obstacles.

With cultural tourism growing nationwide, many of Alaska's 227 Native village corporations are counting on their unique lifestyle and spectacular scenery to provide economic opportunities for shareholders.

However, getting involved in the tourism industry isn't easy for many of the village corporations. Robbie Fagerstrom, CEO of Nome's Sitnasuak Native Corp, says that some cultural aspects of community living may have to be put aside in order to benefit the village economic base as a whole. He said that in many cases shareholders don't have a choice; they must find some avenue of sustaining themselves.

"The social and economic drivers are different for the village corporation getting involved in tourism," adds Ann Campbell, Alaska Travel Industry Association chairperson. "It might mean that breaking even is OK as long as shareholder development and jobs are the return on the investment."

There may be several obstacles village corporations need to overcome when developing tourism in their area--from shareholder opposition to high transportation costs to protecting the "Wild Alaska" concept and subsistence lifestyle. One problem, according to Dave Lacey, manager for Yukon River Tours, a subsidiary of Dinyea Corp, is the short tourism season.

"It's like playing a quarter of hockey and then having an hour and a half for half-time," says Lacey. "There's not enough time during the tourism season to make necessary business adjustments; it has to wait until the next season so progress can be slow."

Trefon Angasan, vice president of shareholder and corporate relations for Bristol Bay Native Corp., compares the many barriers in developing rural tourism to trying to crack a nut--only to get the hammer bouncing back on your forehead with every strike.

Angasan states that over 200 of the village corporations have 500 or less residents, which means they are grossly undercapitalized and do not have the infrastructure needed to provide for an influx of visitors. He adds that Native lands are usually adjacent to park service land, which restricts land use.

"Title 13 of ANCSA (Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) provided priority concession awards to local villages who were nearest to or adjacent to parklands," states Angasan. "But that has not happened. The villages have been stepped over and we are so far down on the list of concession rights for federal land use that we...