43 U.S.C. § 1603

Section 1603 · Declaration of settlement

Amended 1 time on record

Applied in 37 court decisions — leading case Amoco Production Co. v. Village of Gambell (1987)

Most recently applied in Ahtna, Inc. v. State of Alaska, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, State of Alaska, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities v. AHTNA, Inc., State of Alaska, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities v. Ahtna, Inc. (September 2022)

How often courts cite this section

citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) Aboriginal title extinguishment through prior land and water area conveyances

All prior conveyances of public land and water areas in Alaska, or any interest therein, pursuant to Federal law, and all tentative approvals pursuant to section 6(g) of the Alaska Statehood Act, shall be regarded as an extinguishment of the aboriginal title thereto, if any.

(b) Aboriginal title and claim extinguishment where based on use and occupancy; submerged lands underneath inland and offshore water areas and hunting or fishing rights included

All aboriginal titles, if any, and claims of aboriginal title in Alaska based on use and occupancy, including submerged land underneath all water areas, both inland and offshore, and including any aboriginal hunting or fishing rights that may exist, are hereby extinguished.

(c) Aboriginal claim extinguishment where based on right, title, use, or occupancy of land or water areas; domestic statute or treaty relating to use and occupancy; or foreign laws; pending claims

All claims against the United States, the State, and all other persons that are based on claims of aboriginal right, title, use, or occupancy of land or water areas in Alaska, or that are based on any statute or treaty of the United States relating to Native use and occupancy, or that are based on the laws of any other nation, including any such claims that are pending before any Federal or state court or the Indian Claims Commission, are hereby extinguished.

Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel

References in Text

Section 6(g) of the Alaska Statehood Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is section 6(g) of Pub. L. 85–508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, which is set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions.