Alaska News

Calista reaching out on proposal to enroll descendants as shareholders

Alaska Native shareholders in Calista Corp. will be asked next year whether they want to dilute the value of their own interest in the corporation and allow descendants to enroll as shareholders too.

The Southwest Alaska Native corporation announced Friday that next week it will start a tour of the region to inform shareholders about the proposal.

At Calista's annual meeting next year, shareholders will vote on a binding resolution to decide the matter. Shareholders have been asking for the vote for several years.

Calista is neutral on the proposal but is providing outreach to make sure shareholders are informed, the corporation chairman said in a written statement.

"The decision whether to enroll descendants as shareholders is a major turning point for Calista Corporation," board chairman Willie Kasayulie said.

Calista has about 12,900 shareholders. There are about 25,000 descendants who would be eligible for shares if the resolution passed, according to the corporation. All might not enroll. Calista estimates that it could end up with 38,000 shareholders. That would cause dividends to drop by about two-thirds, according to the corporation's estimates.

Leaders are touring more than 20 communities with videos in English and Yup'ik, a presentation by the Calista's shareholder relations committee and opportunities for questions.

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The shareholder meeting schedule for 2014 is: Oct. 15, Tununak; Oct. 16, Kasigluk; Oct. 24, Anchorage; Oct. 29, Kotlik; Oct. 30, Mountain Village; Nov. 12, Bethel; Nov. 13, Kipnuk; and Nov. 14, Crooked Creek. More meetings will take place next year before the annual meeting, the date and location for which will be announced by February.

Calista also intends to post information on www.CalistaVote.com by late November and to communicate about the proposal through its newsletter, on social media and on its monthly KYUK call-in show. It also plans to send information directly to tribes and village corporations.

Should the resolution pass, Calista would issue the new classes of shares in the first half of 2017, it estimates.

Calista was established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. As in other regions, Alaska Natives and descendants born before 1971 were allowed to receive 100 shares in their village corporation and regional corporation.Those born later can be given or can inherit shares.

Calista holds more than 6.5 million acres. The corporation serves 56 villages, including Bethel.

Doyon Ltd. and Sealaska Corp. already have enrolled descendants, according to Calista.

Lisa Demer

Lisa Demer was a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Dispatch News. Among her many assignments, she spent three years based in Bethel as the newspaper's western Alaska correspondent. She left the ADN in 2018.

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