Calista Corporation

Calista Corporation (pronounced [tʃɑlɪstɑ])[1] is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Calista was incorporated in Alaska on June 12, 1972.[2] Although the Calista region is in western Alaska, Calista Corporation is headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. Calista is a for-profit corporation with 17,300 Alaska Native shareholders primarily of Yup'ik descent.

The name Calista (worker) is a portmanteau of the Central Alaskan Yup'ik words cali-, meaning "to work," and -ista, meaning someone or something which does. The Yup'ik language does not have a word for "corporation".

As part of ANCSA, Calista received patent for 4,997,263 acres (20,223.21 km2) from the federal government as well as approximately $80 million, making it the second largest corporation established under ANCSA. The Calista region covers Alaska's Bethel and Kusilvak census areas and includes 56 villages.

Officers and Directors

BOARD[3]
* Unit 1 Mike Akerelrea, Director
Village: Scammon Bay
Villages Represented: Hooper Bay, Paimuit, Chevak,& Scammon Bay.
* Unit 2 JoAnn Werning, Director
Village: Alakanuk
Villages Represented: Alakanuk, Sheldon Point (Nunam Iqua), Bill Moore's Slough, Hamilton & Emmonak.
* Unit 3 Robert L. Beans, Director
Village: Mountain Village
Villages Represented: Kotlik, Chuloonawick, Mountain Village, Pitka's Point & St. Mary's.
* Unit 4 George Guy, Vice Chair
Village: Kwethluk
Villages Represented: Kwethluk, Napaskiak, Oscarville, Napakiak & Eek.
* Unit 5 William Igkurak, Director
Village: Kwigillingok
Villages Represented: Tuntutuliak, Quinhagak, Goodnews Bay, Platinum, Kwigillingok & Kipnuk.
* Unit 6 John P. Angaiak, Director
Village: Tununak
Villages Represented: Mekoryuk, Chefornak, Toksook Bay, Umkumiut, Tununak, Nightmute & Newtok.
* Unit 7 Margaret Pohjola, Secretary
Village: Chuathbaluk
Villages Represented: Lime Village, Stony River, Sleetmute, Red Devil, Crooked Creek, Georgetown, Napaimute, Chuathbaluk, Aniak, Kalskag (Upper) & Lower Kalskag.
* Unit 8 Willie Kasayulie, Chairman
Village: Akiachak
Villages Represented:Tuluksak, Akiak, Akiachak, Atmautluak, Nunapitchuk & Kasigluk.
* Unit 9 Robert Hoffman, Director
Village: Bethel
Villages Represented: Bethel.
* Unit 10 Art Heckman, Director
Village: Pilot Station
Villages Represented: Andreafski, Pilot Station, Marshall, Ohagamuit & Russian Mission.
* At-Large Marcie Sherer, Treasurer
Village: Napaimute
Villages Represented: Any Shareholder.

PRESIDENT Andrew Guy, President & CEO[4]

Shareholders

At incorporation, Calista Corporation enrolled 13,303 Alaska Natives, each of whom received 100 shares of Calista stock. The total number of shareholders has fluctuated since due to transfers through inheritance and gifting of shares, but the total number of shares remain the same. Currently, Calista has almost 14,000 shareholders, almost all of whom are Central Alaskan Yup'ik people, and most of whom still speak the Yup'ik language and live a largely subsistence lifestyle of hunting, fishing, and gathering.

As an ANCSA corporation, Calista Corporation has no publicly traded stock and its shares cannot legally be sold.

Lands

Calista Corporation owns about 6.5 million acres (26,00 km2) in southwestern Alaska on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and the Kuskokwim Mountains [despite much dispute over jurisdiction with indigenous rights holders.][5] Nearly 5 million acres (20,000 km2) of the remaining traditional lands and territories of the First Nation peoples has been illicity conveyed[6] without consent of the original land and territory owners. Congressional law ordered Corporations to be created as State Corporations, thus alienating the true owners of the lands and territories to a state Corporation titled: Calista. Currently 56 villages are Federally Recognized Tribes within the Calista area.[7]

Because of to the importance of the land to the traditional subsistence economies of the region's Yup'ik residents, including the bulk of Calista's shareholders, Calista concentrated most of its land selections under ANCSA in the areas surrounding the region's 56 villages.

Under ANCSA, Calista Corporation also holds subsurface estate correlating to 6.2 million acres (25,000 km2) of surface lands selected by the 46 ANCSA village corporations in the Calista region. Calista’s own entitlement includes 238,000 acres (960 km2) of fee estate lands. Of these lands so far conveyed to the corporation, about half are in areas with high mineral potential or current mineral production. Sand, gravel, and quarry rock also form a significant portion of Calista's subsurface estate. Calista is encouraging exploration for oil and natural gas resources in the region.

In a land exchange with the federal government, finalized in 2001, some of Calista's surface land parcels and a portion of its subsurface estate were incorporated into the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, while preserving subsistence hunting and fishing rights.

Calista is land owner to subsurface rights from ANCSA, and holds title to the large Donlin Creek gold deposit, which is leased to Barrick Gold and NovaGold Resources.[8][9]

Business enterprises

Key Calista businesses include oil well services, telecommunication and VoIP services, secure data hosting, cybersecurity, business services, equipment leasing, computer consulting, real estate, environmental consulting, construction, marketing and advertising.[10]

Under federal law, Calista Corporation and some its majority-owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partnerships are deemed to be "minority and economically disadvantaged business enterprise[s]" (43 USC 1626(e)).

Wholly owned subsidiaries

Calista's subsidiaries include:[11]

Joint Ventures

Calista owns joint ventures in:[12]

References

  1. ↑ Calista Corporation: Shareholder Handbook
  2. ↑ Corporations Database.
  3. ↑ http://www.calistacorp.com/shareholders/board-directors
  4. ↑ http://www.calistacorp.com/business/executives
  5. ↑ http://aitc.org/?q=node/29
  6. ↑ http://aitc.org/sites/default/files/Ron_Barnes_Article_on_Indigenous_Peoples.pdf
  7. ↑ http://aitc.org/?q=node/25
  8. ↑ Bruno, Jeff. "Donlin Gold Project". Alaska Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Donlin Gold's Reserves and Resources". NovaGold Resources Inc. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  10. ↑ http://www.calistacorp.com/business/industries-services
  11. ↑ http://www.calistacorp.com/business/subsidiaries
  12. ↑ http://www.calistacorp.com/sites/default/files/documents/annual_reports/2011_annual_report.pdf

External links

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