Incompatible Goals in Unconventional Organization: The Politics of Alaska Native Corporations

Abstract

This article examines issues of culture and values in the context of a highly unusual situation. Alaska Natives (Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts) are attempting to mould a corporate organizational structure (established by an act of the U.S. Federal Govern ment) into development institutions that will help them keep their traditional home- land. After presenting relevant aspects of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the legislation which mandated these corporations, this article discusses fundamental differences in values, goals, and operational styles of conventional bureaucratic cor porations, and contrasts them with the shared values of Alaska Natives. An effort is made to expose the reader to the variety and complexity of institutional responses, while at the same time offering certain insights that expose critically important problems faced by Alaska Natives regarding conflicts between Native culture and the profit-making functions of their corporations. Our research suggests that there are limited prospects for achieving goals of both a social and economic nature unless major changes are made.