Eklutna Inc. joins U.S. study.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: Inside Alaska Business

Eklutna Inc. was chosen to participate in a three-year national study with Gonzaga University School of Law aiming to examine economic issues at Alaska Native villages and American Indian reservations. The project is run by Gonzaga's Institute for Development of Economic Policy for Indigenous People. Three Pacific Northwest tribes also will participate. Efforts will coordinate meetings between Alaska Native and American Indian leaders with academic officials from Gonzaga Law School and students. Organizers aim to analyze how law can provide a foundation to support economic activity for Alaska Natives and American Indian people. Gonzaga officials believe this pilot project is the first combination of traditional and academic efforts to address economic conditions in Alaska Native villages and American Indian reservations using public policy and the rule of law as a foundation.

Other Alaska Native organizations participated in a June...