In the spring of 1969, a bill wound its way out of Jackson’s committee that would have given Alaska Natives $1 billion and about 10 million acres of land. It also proposed one regional corporation on the Arctic Slope, and two statewide corporations to oversee social programs and investments. When it passed the Senate in July by a vote of 76 to 8, Senator Ted Stevens urged Alaska Natives to take it and run—all the way over to the House. But they didn’t. The strongest objections were over the amount of land. Ten million acres, they said, wasn’t enough.
