Why It Matters
The House Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs will examine two bills on September 17 that address tribal land and resource rights in Alaska and Washington state. The Helping Our People Act of 2026, sponsored by Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA) and supported by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), seeks to modernize the 1989 Settlement Act and restore control of the Permanent Trust Fund to the Puyallup Tribe. The Geese House Site Conveyance Act authorizes the transfer of lands located in the remote northwest corner of Denali National Park and Preserve to Doyon, Limited.
The Big Picture
The Helping Our People Act, also known as kʷaxʷad tiiɫ ʔiišədčəɫ in the Puyallup Tribe's Twulshootseed language, modernizes the 1989 Settlement Act governing the tribe's relationship with the federal government.
Begich's Geese House Site Conveyance Act, introduced in May, targets lands in the remote northwest corner of Denali that became part of the park's boundary through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. Those lands remain under National Park Service management, but the bill would transfer them to Doyon, Limited, an Alaska Native corporation. Begich introduced the measure without cosponsors, though Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has introduced a companion bill in the Senate.
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