The resources in this section document disputes over who was eligible to receive CARES Act relief funds and how much they could receive. Since a large amount was set aside for tribal entities, these disputes were most pronounced in the legal battle over the definition of “Indian Tribes” and “Tribal Governments” and how Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) are classified. The question carried both philosophical and tangible implications for tribal communities across Alaska and the lower 48 and was eventually decided by the Supreme Court in June of 2021. Along with delays in relief payments by the Treasury to ANCs pending this litigation, controversies around the methodology used to determine allocations to tribal entities, largely perceived by stakeholders as opaque and potentially corrupt, also featured prominently in the reporting on federal assistance.

This legal dispute dominated the news about the CARES funding in Alaska at the time of this review and many of the resources were Alaskan and national news reports and press releases from individual ANCs. This review provides a snapshot in time, when the status of payments to ANC shareholders was still evolving, with many ANCs not receiving CARES Act payments from the U.S. Treasury until August 2021.

Agoyo, Acee, and York, Todd.  “Alaska Native Corporations Outpace Tribes in Race for $8 Billion in Coronavirus Relief.” Indianz, April 17, 2020. https://www.indianz.com/News/2020/04/17/alaska-native-corporations-outpace-indian-country.asp.

Preliminary data reported by Indianz.com showed that Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) were “among the first in line” for the $8 billion CARES Act Title V funds designated for “Indian Tribes” and “Tribal Governments,” with nearly all twelve ANCs successfully starting the “certification” process to obtain relief money within hours of the portal opening in April 2020. The article describes how a coalition of organizations collectively representing almost every federally recognized tribe in the lower 48 called for the resignation of then-Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney, due to a potential conflict of interest given her former employment with the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC). Arguments ensued between the Treasury Department and ANCs and the coalition of tribes over the legal definition of “Indian Tribes” and “Tribal Governments.”

The article focuses on the apparent advantage ANCs had over tribes given the structure of Treasury’s program, which required applicants to submit data on population, land base, employees, and expenditures. ANCs far outpace tribes in the lower 48 in all categories except population, due to both the larger land area of Alaska Native Regional Corporations and the unique status of ANCs as corporations with shareholders. Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskin, Jr., told Indianz.com, “If you put aside what I think is the primary issue – which is that the Alaska Native Corporations are not tribal governments and therefore not qualified to receive a share of the funds in this part of the CARES Act, and you look underneath, you see the disparity that will come out of the process that allows them to participate.” At the time of reporting, the Treasury Department had not yet released a formula for distributing funds to tribes and other applicants. Eventually, six tribes, including three based in Alaska, filed suit against the Trump administration over the delayed release of these guidelines and the alleged failure to “carry out the federal government’s mandate to engage in meaningful consultation with Indian nations.”

O’Neill, J. “Interior Official Responsible For Delaying Tribal Relief Funds Married To Lobbyist Applying for COVID Funds.” Western Values Project, May 5, 2020. https://westernvaluesproject.org/interior-official-responsible-for-delaying-tribal-relief-funds-married-to-lobbyist-applying-for-covid-funds/.

An investigation by the Western Values Project uncovered a secondary potential conflict of interest for Tara Sweeney, Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs during the Trump administration and the official charged with overseeing the disbursement of CARES Act funding designated for tribal entities.

In addition to Sweeney’s prior position as a lobbyist for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), this investigation uncovered that her husband, Kevin Sweeney, was a registered lobbyist for Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC), one of the first Alaska Native Corporations to apply for CARES Act funding designated for tribes. The report pulls together evidence from financial disclosure forms and databases, such as the Senate Lobbying Disclosure Database, with reporting by other news outlets such as Politico, Indian Country Today, Anchorage Daily News, and The Wall Street Journal to lay out the evolution of the controversy surrounding Sweeney’s alleged mismanagement of CARES Act fund disbursement to Tribes and the debate over which entities should qualify to receive relief funds designated for Tribes under the CARES Act. 

Alaska Public Media had reported in April 2018 that a consulting company owned by Kevin Sweeney received $15,000 per month from Black Rock Group, a firm founded by Trump’s former communications director Mike Dubke to promote an Alaskan natural gas project. Mr. Sweeney’s firm had also received $210,000 for Federal lobbying from the BBNC since 2019. When Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin announced the portal to apply for CARES Act funding intended for tribal governments, BBNC was one of the first applicants, and by the end of the first day nearly all of the thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations had applied for funding.

Romero, L. “Federal watchdog to investigate Trump official’s role in distribution of coronavirus relief funds to tribes.” ABC News online, May 12, 2020.https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/federal-watchdog-investigate-trump-officials-distribution-coronavirus-relief/story?id=70646700.

This article describes an investigation launched by the Department of Interior (DOI) in May 2020 at the request of Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) involving Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney. The investigation focused on potential conflicts of interest in Sweeney’s role overseeing distribution of the $8 billion allocated to Tribes by the CARES Act.  As described in the previous reference (the Western Values Project article on its investigation),  prior to her role with the DOI Sweeney was employed as a top executive and lobbyist by the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), the wealthiest native entity that applied for CARES Act funds. She remained an ASRC shareholder while her husband, Kevin Sweeney, was a registered lobbyist for Bristol Bay Native Corporation. The article describes the factors that prompted the DOI investigation: mismanagement of the distribution of funds, already six weeks delayed at the point the investigation launched, and the controversy between Native American Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations over eligibility for designated funds.

Monet, Jenni. “Indian Country’s ANWR. Indigenously.” Indianz, 2020. https://www.indianz.com/News/2020/08/24/jenni-monet-indian-countrys-anwr.asp.

This source looks in more depth at Tara Sweeney, the Trump administration official at the center of the federal ethics investigation and lawsuit around eligibility for CARES Act funds designated for Tribes. This news article expands on the previous references by including a description of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation’s role in oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Ruskin, Liz. “Alaska Native corporations win tribal CARES Act case at Supreme Court. Both sides say it wasn’t just about money.” Alaska Public Media, June 25, 2021. http://www.ktoo.org/2021/06/25/supreme-court-rules-alaska-native-corporations-can-receive-cares-act-funds-meant-for-tribes/.

In a 6-3 decision written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) were eligible to receive CARES Act Title V funds intended for tribes and tribal governments. For the tribes listed as plaintiffs, the case was viewed as a fight over their sovereignty as governments, but the ANCs took a narrower stance in their defense, focusing on “whether members of Congress intended to include the ANCs in this pool of money,” according to an attorney with expertise in cases to assert Alaska tribal self-determination. The article explains that due to the definition of “tribe” used in the CARES Act, which follows the definition used in the 1975 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDA), a ruling against the ANCs would have upset long-standing health care, housing, and other services currently administered under ISDA. Particularly in Alaskan urban areas, where tribes were largely decimated during the last pandemic a century ago, this potential disruption to services played an important role in the case from the outset.

Resneck, Jacob. “CARES Act Data Reveals Disparities in Payouts to Native Corporations.” KTOO, September 4, 2021. https://www.ktoo.org/2021/09/04/cares-act-data-reveals-disparities-in-payouts-to-native-corporations/.

This article describes disparities in disbursements paid to ANCs following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2021 that freed up roughly $450 million for ANCs. The article features testimonies from ANC executives drawing attention to small payouts received by some ANCs relative to number of shareholders served, and a seemingly “strong correlation” between the number of corporation employees and the amount of funding received. Many ANC executives expressed confusion regarding how exactly the Treasury calculated disbursement, including the spokesperson for Cook Inlet Regional Inc. (CIRI), the ANC that received the most CARES Act funding for tribal entities ($111 million, roughly $12,000 per shareholder). 

Examples of higher payouts per capita included Juneau’s Goldbelt, Inc. ($11.1 million for about 4,000 shareholders), Afognak Native Corporation ($19.2 million for roughly 1,000 shareholders), and Tatitlek Corporation ($5 million for fewer than 500 shareholders). Examples of lower payouts per capita included Sealaska ($4.2 million for 23,000 shareholders), Yat-Tat Kwaan, Inc. ($164,000 for roughly 500 shareholders, or around $300 per shareholder), and Kootznoowoo, Inc. ($168,625 for 1,100 shareholders, less than $150 per shareholder).

Section 3.1.1  U.S. Department of Treasury Coronavirus Relief Fund Guidance for Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations

The references in this subsection show the federal government’s evolving official guidance on allocation and eligible uses of the Tribal Relief Funds (“TRF”) and provide critical insight into the bureaucracy that Tribes and ANCs were navigating to access and use the funds.

“Coronavirus Relief Fund.” U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2021. https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/coronavirus-relief-fund.

This website summarizes U.S. Treasury Department guidance on eligible uses of fund disbursements by State, Local, and Tribal governments under the CARES Act $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund, the population-based allocation calculation for states, D.C., U.S. Territories, and eligible local governments, and the allocation methodology and progress on payments to Tribal governments.  

The original Guidance on Treatment of Alaska Native Corporations (4/23/2020) stated that payment amounts to Tribal governments would be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and Indian Tribes, and reports the Treasury’s conclusion that, after consultation with the Department of the Interior, “Alaska Native regional and village corporations as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act” would be eligible to receive payments.

The original Coronavirus Relief Fund Tribal Allocation Methodology (dated May 5, 2020) describes the consultation process with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal leaders, determination of an allocation formula, and sources of data and methodology for the population-based component of the allocation formula. The document iterates that Alaska Native Corporations would be eligible to receive payments but that those payments were not yet being disbursed due to pending litigation. All Tribal governments with populations greater than 37 would receive a minimum of $100,000 under the population-based allocation, with steps for calculating pro-rata payments above that amount outlined in the final section of the document.

The Tribal Allocation Methodology for Second Distribution (6/17/2020) describes the methodology used to allocate payments based on employment and expenditure data, which were used to allocate 30 percent and 10 percent of the $8 billion reserved for Tribal governments, respectively. Tribal governments were required to provide quarterly employment data for calendar year 2019 and monthly government expenditures for fiscal year 2019. As of June 17, 2020, all payments based on employment and expenditure data had been delivered, other than payments allocated to ANCs, which remained delayed due to pending litigation.

The Coronavirus Relief Fund Allocations to Tribal Governments (4/30/2021) update describes the Treasury’s decision to reconsider the impact of previous allocation methodology on certain tribes and adopt a new methodology to reallocate a portion of the remaining, unpaid funds reserved for Tribal governments. Tribal governments with very low population numbers relative to their enrollment counts and ANCs both expressed a need for more funding to serve members not adequately covered by the original allocation methodology, either because they resided outside the tribal government formula area, or they were not currently served by any federally recognized tribe (in the case of some ANC shareholders). ANCs were not included in this reallocation calculation but would still receive over $450 million in total CRF funding.

The August 2021 Disbursements to Alaska Native Corporations explained that the Treasury originally determined to allocate funds for Tribal governments based on population, employment, and expenditure data, with a minimum payment of $100,000 included as part of the population-based allocation, then subsequently reallocated a portion of the remaining funds via a new methodology to address particular circumstances of certain federally-recognized tribes.

Section 3.1.2  The Case of the Calista Corporation                                                                       

To track how one Alaska Native Regional Corporation responded to this eligibility debate and to illustrate how extremely complicated the question of ANCs versus Tribes is in Alaska (as well as the great variation in ANCs), this subsection highlights press releases and other resources put out by the Calista Corporation on the distribution of CARES Act funds.

Guy, A. Response to March 31, 2020 Request for Tribal Consultation; Proposed Formula for Distribution of $8 Billion Coronavirus Tribal Relief Fund, April 11, 2020. https://www.calistacorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/4-11-2020-Calista-CARES-letter-to-Treasury-BIA-002.pdf.

After the Treasury Department requested Tribal consultation on the distribution issue in March 2020, Calista CEO Andrew Guy wrote to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt “to ensure that Federally recognized Tribal governments in our region receive sufficient funds to address impacts of the Coronavirus as soon as possible.” He described the need for Calista’s role, although it is not a Tribal government, in that “Federal law requires that the Treasury and Interior Departments consult with us on matters affecting the Native people who are our shareholders.”

Guy explained that no roads or rails serve the approximately 25,000 residents of the area, that more than one-third of the Native communities in Alaska that do not have adequate running water and wastewater treatment are located in the Y-K Delta, and that there is only one regional hospital and it is not licensed to provide ICU beds. Guy recommended that because many Tribes would be unable to register through Treasury’s portal and respond to web-based information requests, “a minimum distribution of $2 million per Tribe be adopted as a default payment to ensure no Tribal government is left out.” Guy also submitted that Tribes “should be allowed to delegate authority to regional Alaska Native Corporations to secure and distribute their share of the Tribal Relief Fund” because of the administrative challenges and that Alaska Tribes should receive 39.9 percent of the total fund amount because Alaska’s 229 Tribes represent 39.9 percent of the 574 Tribes in the United States.

Guy, A. Distribution of $8 billion Tribal Relief Fund under the CARES Act, April 13, 2020. https://www.calistacorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/4-13-20-COVID-assistance-letter-to-YK-villages.pdf.

Calista sent this brief letter to all the Tribes and Village Corporations in the Y-K Delta Region announcing that the funds were available and noting the requirements and deadline to submit online. The letter notes: “We realize that many of you have internet and technology issues that will prevent you from easily responding by the deadline. Tribes that do not provide the required information by Friday may not receive any payment from the fund.” The letter ended with a simple template section to be filled out by each entity if they agreed to let Calista handle their application: “YES, WE REQUEST THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CALISTA CORPORATION TO ASSIST US IN SECURING OUR SHARE OF THE TRIBAL RELIEF FUND.” (Bolded and capitalized text reflects the original letter.)

Guy, A. Unauthorized Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee Member Letter on TTAC CARES Act Relief Funding Recommendations, April 23, 2020. https://www.calistacorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/4-23-20-Calista-Response-to-TTAC.pdf.

Calista CEO Andrew Guy wrote to Steve Mnuchin to decry a letter that appointees of the Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee (TTAC) had sent to the Treasury that “vigorously advocated” for ANCs to be excluded from the distribution. Guy noted that TTAC was established to advise on taxation and their comments should not be relevant to the CARES Act. He also argued that TTAC’s letter quoted and misrepresented the letter he (Guy) had sent to the Treasury that outlined the federal requirement to consult with ANCs on the same basis as Tribes.

Guy, A. Calista Corporation Comment on Coronavirus Relief Funds Tribal Allocations Questions, March 24, 2021. https://www.calistacorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Calista-Comment-Letter-to-Treasury-3-24-2021.pdf).

Calista CEO Andrew Guy wrote comments to the Treasury Department “on what appears to be a proposed midstream re-allocation of CARES Act Tribal Relief Funds (“TRF”).” Before the comments on the latest allocation decisions, the letter includes a strongly worded section on tribal sovereignty, Calista’s commitment to it, and a reminder of the context of size, lack of access off the road system, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter explains to the Treasury that the tribal citizens of the region “paid a dear price for the right to form and receive benefits from Calista and our region’s ANCSA Village Corporations: Extinguishment of aboriginal title to their traditional lands.” He further explained that any federal action that harms ANCs’ ability to provide benefits is a serious concern to ANCs, Alaska Natives, and Tribes.

In the third section preceding Calista’s actual comments, the letter lays out the requirement of federal agencies to engage in meaningful consultation before taking action that could impact ANCs or Tribes and scolds Treasury for its failures.

Guy’s letter then responds point by point to the Treasury’s questions concerning a pending decision to relocate a portion of the CARES Act funds for Tribes away from ANCs. Guy requests the Treasury to honor its prior commitments by releasing the critically needed funds and requests that if the Supreme Court or the Treasury does deem ANCs ineligible or significantly reallocates the TRF funds, then the funds held for ANCs should be reallocated to Alaska Tribes or else risk breaching the federal government’s Trust Responsibility.

Calista Corporation Receives 2020 CARES Act Relief Funding, August 10, 2021. https://www.calistacorp.com/news/calista-receives-cares-act-relief-funding/.

On August 9, 2021, Calista Corporation received its total allocation of $12.2 million following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ANCs are eligible for payments from the 2020 CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund. This press release from Calista Corporation stated that the U.S. Treasury announced total allocations for ANCs of nearly $443.9 million (less than 6 percent of the total $8 billion in the Tribal Relief Fund) and announced that Calista Corporation’s leadership would assess how to expend funds to ensure compliance with strict Treasury Department spending and reporting guidelines, which could take several weeks to finalize and implement.

Calista Update on CARES Act Relief Funding, August 26, 2021. https://www.calistacorp.com/news/caresactfundsupdate/.

In this press release, the Calista Corporation Board of Directors announced its approval of the process for shareholders to receive assistance through the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund allocation—17 months after the law was passed by Congress. An online application process was expected to launch in October, through which Shareholders who are U.S. citizens living in the U.S. would be able to apply for up to $325. Of the $11.4 million dedicated to the Shareholder assistance program, $10,000 was allocated to the fish donation program to deliver roughly 3,300 pounds of salmon to families in the Yukon River area struggling due to low salmon returns.

Calista CARES Act Assistance Program, (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2021, from https://www.calistacorp.com/caresact/.

This Calista Corporation “Frequently Asked Questions” page illustrates how an ANC communicated the process of applying for funds by the deadline of November 30, 2021, to its shareholders. In addition to explaining eligible uses and how funds were distributed, Calista justified the funds it was receiving as an ANC versus other ANCs and Tribes and also explained: “We know that these funds won’t even come close to completely cover the financial impacts that many Shareholders have suffered from the pandemic, but we know these payments will help.”