Governor Walter Hickel

Walter J. Hickel, also known as Wally, served two terms as the governor of Alaska. He served his two terms during the years of 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994. Wally was very much involved with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, especially after her first went to interior Alaska. Wally had said in an interview, “… it became clear that the elders understood the commons. If they caught a whale it wasn’t “my whale,” it was “our whale.” They didn’t have a tradition of land ownership, but they decided they had to claim title to the land to protect their way of life on the commons and to benefit from the mineral resources of Alaska.” So Wally created a group called Governor’s Special Task Force on Native Claims to study this issues dealing with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.