Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Visiting Distinguished Professor Willie Hensley talks to Prof. Fortson's Alaska Native law class about Alaska Native land issues

Center: Prof. Willie Hensley explains the background of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).

Willie Hensley, one of Alaska's most well-known leaders and a Visiting Distinguished Professor of Business and Public Policy in the UAA College of Business and Public Policy, spoke on February 28 to a combined group of students from Prof. Ryan Fortson's Alaska Native law class and Prof. Terry Kelly's contemporary philosophy class.

Prof. Hensley was a  key figure in the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and he highlighted the issues surrounding the struggle for recognition of land claims by Alaska Natives, and the history of relations between Alaska Natives and the state and federal governments.

Center l to r: Just prior to Prof. Hensley's presentation, Prof. Kelly and Prof. Fortson, J.D., listen as a student outlines some of the issues in Native land claims .