Emil Notti: Difference between revisions

'''Dr. Emil Reynold Notti''' (born March 11, 1933)<ref name="Who's Who">{{Cite book|last1=Atwood|first1=Evangeline|authorlink1=Evangeline Atwood|last2=DeArmond|first2=Robert N.|authorlink2=R. N. DeArmond|title=Who's Who in Alaskan Politics|year=1977|publisher=[[Binford & Mort]] for the Alaska Historical Commission|location=[[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]|isbn=0-8323-0287-2|page=73}}</ref> is an American engineer, indigenous activist and democratic politician of [[Koyukon]] [[Alaskan Athabaskans|Athabaskan]] heritage. Born in [[Koyukuk, Alaska]], Notti arguably played the most pivotal role in developing the [[Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act]] (ANCSA) signed into law by President [[Richard Nixon]] on December 18, 1971, constituting at the time the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in Alaska and could, perhaps, be considered an ending of more than a century of endeavor by the Native people of the state to secure their land, as well as to stimulate economic development throughout Alaska. Notti was the first President of the Alaska Federation of Natives and Doyon’s third President, a regional corporation who owns 12.5 million acres. <ref>https://www.doyon.com/shareholder-spotlight-emil-notti/</ref> He is a U.S. Navy veteran and worked for Autonetics, a division of North American Aviation, on the Minuteman Ballistic Missile during The Cold War. Later, he served under several Alaska Governors as Deputy Commissioner of Health and Social Services, Commissioner of Community and Regional Affairs and Commissioner of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. These Governors included William Egan, the first governor of the State of Alaska, Bill Sheffield, and Sarah Palin, the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 presidential election. Notti served on numerous boards, including the National Bank of Alaska (acquired by Wells Fargo), the Alaska Railroad, a two time Board of Trustee for APFC (the United State's largest Sovereign Wealth Fund with $75 billion under management), and Cook Inlet Regional, Inc. Notti earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical and electrical engineering from Northrop University. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from both Alaska Pacific University and the University of Alaska Anchorage. ▼

On an October morning in 1966, Emil called for a Statewide meeting inviting numerous leaders around Alaska to gather and create the first meeting of a committee. The historic meeting was held October 18, 1966 - on the 99th anniversary of the transfer of Alaska from Russia. Notti presided over the three-day conference as it discussed matters of land recommendations, claims committees, and political challenges the act would have getting through Congress. Many respected politicians and businessmen attended the meeting and delegates were astonished at the attention which they received from well-known political figures of the state. One Native leader in attendance at the convention observed that "if any delegate was seen paying for his own meal, it was probably because he chose to dine alone!" The growing presence and political importance of Natives were evidenced when association leaders were elected to the legislature. Members of the association gathered and were able to gain seven of the sixty seats in the legislature. When the group met a second time early in 1967, it emerged with a new name, The Alaska Federation of Natives, and a new full-time President, Emil Notti. AFN would change the human rights and economic stability of the Alaska Native population forever. ▼

After the [[Alaska Purchase|purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867]], Alaska was still not classified a State and was considered a territory. Native Alaskans still did not have the rights of U.S. citizens. "Thus, without further ceremony," wrote historian Bancroft, "this vast area of land, belonging by right to neither, was transferred from one European race to the offshoot of another." Negotiations regarding the purchase of the land were conducted with such speed that the treaty itself was hastily drawn and failed to define clearly the status of Natives, their rights, or matters of land ownership. Only one paragraph (part of Article III) was devoted to the inhabitants of Russia-America. It was not until 1959 that Alaska would officially become a State of the United States. ▼

==Later life==▼

After the passage of ANCSA, Notti continued his career with AFN, eventually becoming the CEO of Doyon Limited, Commissioner of Commerce & Economic Development, and Commissioner of Community & Regional Affairs for the State of Alaska. ▼

==References==▼