Formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of December 18, 1971, Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) has approximately 9,600 shareholders (as of 2014) who are Eskimo, Indian and Aleut. It is one of the 13 regional corporations.
| Address | 111 West 16th Avenue, Suite 400 Anchorage, AK 99501 |
Native Cultures | Aleut/Alutiq, Dena’ina Athabascans and Yupiks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide Employees | 1001 | ||
| Phone | 907-278-3602 | Alaska Employees | 584 |
| www | http://www.bbnc.net | Shareholders | 9,600 |
| Location | Upper Alaska Peninsula | Original Shareholders | 5,401 |
| Land Conveyed | 2,716,000 Subsurface, 101,500 Surface and subsurface | ||
Bristol Bay Native Corporation is a diversified holding company. Investments and services include a stock portfolio, architectural design, cardlock fueling, corporate services, corrosion inspection, environmental engineering and remediation, oilfield and environmental cleanup labor, and surveying and government services.
Natives from the Bristol Bay region played an important role in achieving the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) by encouraging the Native Claims movement.
The Alaska Natives Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) offered an alternative to the Indian reservation system in the Lower 48. When ANCSA was signed into law on December 18, 1971, it required each of the 12 newly formed regions to create a for-profit corporation.
Bristol Bay Native Corporation was incorporated in 1972 and became entitled to receive approximately 3 million acres of land, primarily subsurface estate. Roughly 5,400 Alaska Natives with ties to the Bristol Bay region received 100 shares of stock in BBNC. Today, BBNC has more than 9,600 shareholders.
The Land
The Bristol Bay region is 150 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, and is approximately 40,000 square miles in size — slightly larger than the State of Ohio.
The region has spectacular landscapes, a fascinating and complex history, three diverse Native cultural traditions, volcanoes, unspoiled wilderness, and diverse state and national parks and refuges.
Among the wide-open spaces are black sand beaches, mountain ranges, lowland tundra, wetlands, abundant flora and fauna, and many wild and scenic rivers. Iliamna Lake, located in the north of the region, is the largest freshwater lake in Alaska.
The Bristol Bay villages are situated in the watersheds of the world-renowned Bristol Bay salmon fishery. The pristine lakes and rivers that empty into Bristol Bay support spawning and harvesting of all five species of Pacific salmon — king, sockeye, silver, chum, and pink — as well as rainbow trout, arctic char, grayling, northern pike, lake trout and Dolly Varden.
Beluga whales and Orcas (killer whales) can be seen following the salmon runs.
Bristol Bay Cultures
Traditional customs of the Eskimo, Aleut, and Indian are still evident in the Bristol Bay region today. Each of the three Native peoples of the Bristol Bay region has their own distinct Native language and dialect that identifies them as being different from another tribe.
Aleut Culture
The Aleut/Alutiiq who lived on the ocean side of the Alaska Peninsula were confined to the coasts because of rugged mountainous terrain. Skilled kayakers subsisting mainly on fish and sea mammals.
The Aleut/Alutiiq made two types of sea craft: the small, decked canoe known as the kayak or bidarka, and the large open boat called the angyat or baidar.
The main food sources center around seals, whale, salmon, halibut, shellfish, and other sea creatures. These resources are not only harvested for food, but also for clothing, boats, and as oil for lamps.
Land mammals, such as caribou, were originally taken by spear or bow and arrow. Large nets were used to capture birds such as cormorants, ducks, and sea parrots for use in making parkas. Whales were obtained mainly by use of poisoned spear blades.
Dena’ina Athabascan Indian Culture
The Dena’ina Athabascans occupied lands around Iliamna Lake and Lake Clark. Abundant runs of red salmon and moose and caribou provided a stable food supply for the Indians living in this area. They hunted for bear, beaver, porcupine, and waterfowl, and fished for freshwater fish.
Canoes were made of birch bark, moose hide, and cottonwood.
To the Dena’ina, the raven is the creator of their ancient world and is known as a mischief-loving deity. Their oral history is filled with raven stories meant to teach and entertain.
Eskimo Culture
The Eskimos on the Bristol Bay side of the peninsula were primarily hunters and fisherman, subsisting on caribou, moose, bear, and other land animals as well as waterfowl and ptarmigan.
Salmon was harvested with the use of gill nets made of spruce root, while smaller fish were taken with scoop nets. Fish traps, harpoons, and weirs were also used in the taking of fish. Whitefish and bottom fish were captured using bone hooks.
Caribou were prized not only for their meat but for their skins, which were used in making clothing and for trading purposes. The hunting of caribou was done with bows and arrows and snares.
Brown bear and moose were also hunted by the Eskimos. The brown bear skins were prized by all the Alaska Natives for bedding and as hangings at entrances in place of doors. Brown bears still outnumber people in the Bristol Bay region by more than 2,000.
The Natives of Bristol Bay are also gatherers of berries and plants which are used as a source of food, such as greens, mushrooms, and seaweed. Other plants and berries are gathered for medicinal purposes.
Today, many Alaska Natives of the Bristol Bay region continue to live in the areas settled by their ancestors. They weave a rich culture filled with dancing, songs, stories, food gathering, hunting, and fishing.
Bristol Bay Subsidaries:
CCI Industrial Services provides a diverse array of specialty services to the oil and gas, mining, construction, power, aviation, and government industry sectors.
Kakivik Asset Management specializes in nondestructive testing and inspection to meet the needs of Alaska’s petroleum and construction industries.
Peak Oilfield Service Company provides construction, maintenance, industrial cleaning, power generation, and transportation services to support resource development companies.
Bristol Bay Resource Solutions, LLC (BBRS), is a shared services company providing services to Bristol Bay Native Corporation and its subsidiaries in the construction and tourism industries, as well as outside clients. They provide services such as accounting, contracts administration, communications, information technology and Human Resources services.
Bristol Bay Corporate Services provides record keeping, probate and stock gifting to village corporations. By consolidating administrative functions into a single organization, BBNC and village corporations reap the benefits of a single staff of capable administrators that provide the necessary functions for probate and stock transfers, stock gifting and stock registry.
BBCS also prints dividend checks and provides mailing services for village corporation annual meetings and special projects. Through Bristol Bay Corporate Services, BBNC also assures that its equipment is used to provide low-cost delivery of essential corporate services while promoting the strength of Bristol Bay villages.
Business Resource Solutions LLC (BRS) focuses on providing human resources, accounting, and government contracting for start-up to medium-size businesses.
Eagle Applied Sciences provides specialized progam management and staffing of medical and applied sciences projects, including quality assurance and metrics, technical management, medical staffing, patient care, space and life sciences, and biomedical research and development.
Glacier Technologies, LLC serves various government agencies and commercial businesses, specializeing in providing a broad range of support services that fall within five broad marketing areas: Information Technologies, Operational Test and Evaluation, Range Support, Communications and Electronics, and Contact Center Operations. Specific services the company is currently providing to its clients include (but are not limited to) automation operations and maintenance, defense system studies and analysis, patient appointing services, operational testing and evaluation, and call center operations.
SpecPro, Inc. is a dynamic 8(a) Alaska Native corporation specializing in engineering and technical services, information management services, and environmental services. Clients include the U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Agriculture. SpecPro operates in 26 states and two locations overseas.
SpecPro Technical Services (STS) is a blend of engineers, scientists and business professionals that apply innovation and vision with advanced technologies to satisfy the need of government and industry partners.
Vista International Operations (VIO) was formed to provide information management service for the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service to Russia. They also offer support for tasks that range from military support for desktop and armaments production productivity to the management of sensitive systems within the Department of Defense to the tactical in-theater systems.
PetroCard, Inc., headquarted in Kent, Washington, provides fuel to businesses operating fleets of commercial vehicles. Acquisitions of nine companies over the last few years added cardlock locations and new business lines: mobile fueling, the wholesaling of lubrications and motor oils, fuel wholesaling and transportation, and a network of 100 retail fuel dealers.
Aerostar SES LLC (Aerostar) a full-service environmental engineering and remediation firm providing a broad range of services to commercial, industrial, and governmental agencies located throughout the United States.
SpecPro Environmental Services LLC (SES) is a wholly owned subsidiary of BBNC that has provided construction and environmental services to government clients for almost 20 years, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment, the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and various military installations.
SES Construction and Fuel Services LLC (SCF) provides a full range of environmental construction and remediation, civil construction and fuel services to U.S. federal government clients including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Bristol Bay Member Villages and Village Corporations
| Community Name | Corporation Name |
|---|---|
| Aleknagik | Aleknagik Natives Limited |
| Chignik | Chignik Lagoon Native Corporation |
| Chignik Lagoon | Chigik River Limited |
| Chignik Lake | Far West Inc |
| Clarks Point | Saguyak Inc. |
| Dillingham | Choggiung Limited |
| Egegik | Becharof Corporation |
| Ekuk | Ekuk Native Limited |
| Ekwok | Ekwok Natives Limited |
| Igiugig | Igiugig Native Corporation |
| Iliamna | Iliamna Native Corporation |
| Ivanoff Bay | Bay View Inc. |
| Kokhanok | Kokhanok Native Corporation |
| Koliganek | Koliganek Natives Limited |
| Levelock | Levelock Natives Limited |
| Manokotak | Manokotak Natives Limited |
| Naknek | Paug-Vik Inc. Limited |
| New Halen | New Halen Native Corporation |
| New Stuyahok | Stuyahok Limited |
| Nondalton | Nondalton Native Corporation |
| Olsonville | Olsonville Inc. |
| Pedro Bay | Pedro Bay Corporation |
| Perryville | Oceanside Corporation |
| Pilot Point | Pilot Point Native Corporation |
| Port Alsworth | Tanalian Inc |
| Port Heiden | Meshik Inc. |
| Portage Creek | Ohgsenskale Corporation |
| Savonski | Savonski Corporation |
| South Naknek | Qinuyang Limited |
| Togiak | Togiak Natives Limited |
| Twin Hills | Twin Hills Native Corporation |
| Ugashik | Ugashik Native Corporation |
Leading causes of death in the Bristol Bay Region:
Between 2009-2013, 276 people died in the Bristol Bay Region. The top 5 causes of death were:
1) Malignant Neoplasms (58)
2) Unintentional Injuries(54)
3) Diseases of the Heart (51)
4) Intentional Self-Harm (Suicide) (15)
5)Cerebrovascular Diseases (10)