<\/a>A celebratory sign stands outside Goldbelt Inc.’s new building during the Alaska Native Regional Corporation’s 50th-anniversary celebration on Thursday. (Mark Sabbatini \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Leaders from decades past talked about landmark moments in Goldbelt’s founding, while current top officials focused on the company’s present-day activities and future goals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“We are here 50 years, but as we know the Tlingit culture has been here far, far longer — thousands of years,” said Katherine Eldemar, a member of Goldbelt’s board of directors, during a series of speeches by top officials during the two-hour ceremony. “And that is what we expect Goldbelt Inc. to be. Many, many, many generations from now on when we are all dust, and we are all returned to the earth and we are no longer here in this physical form, Goldbelt Inc. will be here. And our children and our children’s children will benefit from the leadership that does what is right, not what’s convenient.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Eldemar noted that 50 years ago “you could buy a Ford Mustang for $8,300 and change (and) an average home was under $36,000.” A lot has changed since then, including Goldbelt’s focus as a corporation.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“In the old days, back in the ‘80s, we were basically a timber harvesting organization and that was the business, the cash flow,” she said. “Fast forward to today, over 90% of Goldbelt’s revenues come from our federal contracting, the federal government. And we hold ourselves up and we ask management to maintain the highest standards, the gold standard, when it comes to Goldbelt’s business because we want to have an excellent reputation so that we continue to be successful in our federal contracting industry.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Emil Notti, the first president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, discusses during Goldbelt Inc.’s 50th-anniversary celebration on Thursday the difficult discussions that resulted in his tie-breaking vote to include Southeast Alaska Native Corporations in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). (Mark Sabbatini \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Honored by several Goldbelt leaders before he offered a featured speech was Emil Notti, the first president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and a key figure in the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). He cast the tie-breaking vote to include Southeast Alaska Native entities into AFN, which also resulted in the region’s Native Corporations — including Goldbelt — receiving a total of $7.2 million and 290,000 acres of land.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“We knew we needed Southeast’s support, and their strength and experience,” Notti said, describing the lengthy discussion that took place with attorneys, politicians and others involved in the ANCSA discussion. “By working together and sticking together we were able to persevere.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“After 50 years it’s great to see the progress that’s being made, the strength of the company,” he said. “The good that you’re doing. The buildings that you’re putting up Alaska. The land claims has been good for Alaska. When you look around cities there are nice new office buildings, they pay taxes…so we’re good for the economy of Alaska and I expect that for the next 50 years, the 100 years — we’ll do a lot more.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Goldbelt, formed with 2,722 original shareholders, now represents more than 3,700 shareholders and descendants, and has about 2,000 employees, according to company officials. The 272,000 shares of Goldbelt stock represent assets of more than $100 million, plus more than 32,000 acres of land in the Juneau area.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t