Shining Stars: Village and urban corporations on the rise.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: ALASKA NATIVE

In addition to twelve regional corporations, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) allocated lands and funds to more than 200 village corporations. As with their regional counterparts, the village corporations are mandated to make a profit and use it to benefit their shareholders and villages. It's no surprise that, among hundreds of corporations, no two have chosen the exact same path to meet that mandate. Below are highlights and updates for a handful of the village and urban corporations.

Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation

Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC) states, "During the development of ANCSA, our leaders were creative and resourceful in adapting to the changing world around them, just like our ancestors had been. When UIC was established, Barrow was still very much a subsistence-oriented community. We knew little about business, let alone running an ANCSA-mandated, multimillion-dollar corporation. Whalers became corporate executives overnight, and we rose to the challenge."

Fifty years later, UIC has become one of the largest village corporations with 4,000 employees, fifty-four subsidiaries, and more than 2,900 shareholders. This year it welcomed a new trail-blazing leader: President and CEO Pearl K. Brower joined the corporation in April, after then-president and CEO Delbert Rexford announced his retirement. At the time of the hiring announcement, Brower said, "After serving as a member of the board of directors this last year, I know we have an amazing team across our entire company, and I look forward to building on the foundation our board and outgoing president Delbert Rexford has laid for us. A bright future for our families, and our corporation, are important to me as we envision a healthy, strong community for generations to come."

A month later in May, UIC announced a different kind of acquisition, a majority interest in HC Contractors, a Fairbanks-based construction company specializing in infrastructure and heavy civil construction services. At the time of the acquisition, UIC COO Jeevan Pokharel said, "We look forward to partnering with HC's team and continuing to deliver vital, world-class infrastructure engineering and construction services in Alaska, This definitely places UIC as a dominant force in the heavy civil industry." The acquisition adds to UIC's construction industry expertise, which has been built through subsidiaries such UIC Construction and Qayaq Construction, among others.

Goldbelt, Incorporated

Goldbelt was formed originally with 2,722 shareholders and today represents more than 3,900 Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian shareholders and their descendants in Southeast. The company states, "Goldbelt is committed to making a significant and positive difference in the lives of our shareholders," and year after year it is delivering on that promise.

According to Goldbelt CEO McHugh Pierre, "2021 was the most successful in Goldbelt history," which was the third consecutive record-setting year for the corporation. In addition to seeing an increase in its number of employees in and out of Alaska, Goldbelt reports approximately $500 million in gross revenue for 2021 -- approximately 80 percent growth...