Calista Corporation

Calista Corporation (pronounced [dʒɑlɪstɑ]) is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Calista was incorporated in Alaska on June 12, 1972. Although the Calista region is in western Alaska, Calista Corporation is headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. Calista is a for-profit corporation with 17,300 Alaska Native shareholders primarily of Yup'ik descent.

The name Calista is a portmanteau of the Central Alaskan Yup'ik words 'Cali', meaning "work," and 'Ista', meaning someone or something which does. The Yup'ik language does not have a word for "corporation".

As part of ANCSA, Calista received patent for 4,997,263 acres (20,223.21 km²) from the federal government as well as approximately $80 million, making it the second largest corporation established under ANCSA. The Calista region covers Alaska's Bethel and Wade Hampton census areas and includes 56 villages.

Officers and Directors

BOARD Unit1 Mike Akerelrea, Director, Village: Scammon Bay, Villages Represented: Hooper Bay, Paimuit, Chevak,& Scammon Bay. Unit2 JoAnn Werning, Director, Village: Alakanuk, Villages Represented: Alakanuk, Sheldon Point (Nunam Iqua), Bill Moore's Slough, Hamilton & Emmonak. Unit3 Felix Hess, Secretary, Village: Mountain Village, Villages Represented: Kotlik, Chuloonawick, Mountain Village, Pitka's Point & St. Mary's. Unit4 George Guy, Director, Village: Kwethluk, Villages Represented: Kwethluk, Napaskiak, Oscarville, Napakiak & Eek. Unit5 William Igkurak, Director, Village: Kwigillingok, Villages Represented: Tuntutuliak, Quinhagak, Goodnews Bay, Platinum, Kwigillingok & Kipnuk. Unit6 John P. Angaiak, Director, Village: Tununak, Villages Represented: Mekoryuk, Chefornak, Toksook Bay, Umkumiut, Tununak, Nightmute & Newtok. Unit7 Margaret Pohjola, Treasurer, Village: Chuathbaluk, Villages Represented: Lime Village, Stony River, Sleetmute, Red Devil, Crooked Creek, Georgetown, Napaimute, Chuathbaluk, Aniak, Kalskag (Upper) & Lower Kalskag. Unit8Willie KasayulieVice-ChairmanVillage: Akiachak, Villages Represented:Tuluksak, Akiak, Akiachak, Atmautluak, Nunapitchuk & Kasigluk. Unit9 Robert Hoffman, Director, Village: Bethel, Villages Represented: Bethel. Unit 10 Art Heckman, Chairman of the Board, Village: Pilot Station, Villages Represented: Andreafski, Pilot Station, Marshall, Ohagamuit & Russian Mission. At-Large Harley Sundown Director Village: Scammon Bay, Villages Represented: Any Shareholder.

PRESIDENT Matthew Nicolai, President & CEO

Shareholders

At incorporation, Calista Corporation enrolled 13,303 Alaska Natives, each of whom received 100 shares of Calista stock. The total number of shareholders has fluctuated since due to transfers through inheritance and gifting of shares, but the total number of shares remain the same. Currently, Calista has almost 14,000 shareholders, almost all of whom are Central Alaskan Yup'ik Eskimos, and most of whom still speak the Yup'ik language and live a largely subsistence lifestyle of hunting, fishing, and gathering.

As an ANCSA corporation, Calista Corporation has no publicly traded stock and its shares cannot legally be sold.

Lands

Calista Corporation owns about 6.5 million acres (26,00 km²) in southwestern Alaska on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and the Kuskokwim Mountains [despite much dispute over jurisdiction with indigenous rights holders.] Nearly 5 million acres (20,000 km²) of the remaining traditional lands and territories of the First Nation peoples has been illicity conveyed without consent of the original land and territory owners. Congressional law ordered Corporations to be created as State Corporations, thus alienating the true owners of the lands and territories to a state Corporation titled: Calista. Currently 56 villages are Federally Recognized Tribes within the Calista area.

Because of to the importance of the land to the traditional subsistence economies of the region's Yup'ik residents, including the bulk of Calista's shareholders, Calista concentrated most of its land selections under ANCSA in the areas surrounding the region's 56 villages.

Under ANCSA, Calista Corporation also holds subsurface estate correlating to 6.2 million acres (25,000 km²) of surface lands selected by the 46 ANCSA village corporations in the Calista region. Calista’s own entitlement includes 238,000 acres (960 km²) of fee estate lands. Of these lands so far conveyed to the corporation, about half are in areas with high mineral potential or current mineral production. Sand, gravel, and quarry rock also form a significant portion of Calista's subsurface estate. Calista is encouraging exploration for oil and natural gas resources in the region.

In a land exchange with the federal government, finalized in 2001, some of Calista's surface land parcels and a portion of its subsurface estate were incorporated into the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, while preserving subsistence hunting and fishing rights.

Calista is land owner to subsurface rights from ANCSA, & holds title to Donlin Creek & has a lease to Barrick Gold and NovaGold.

Business enterprises

Key Calista businesses include rural newspapers, oil well services, business services, title insurance, equipment leasing, computer consulting, real estate, environmental consulting, construction and wholesale distribution.

Under federal law, Calista Corporation and its majority-owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partnerships are deemed to be "minority and economically disadvantaged business enterprise[s]" (43 USC 1626(e)).

Wholly owned subsidiaries

Calista's subsidiaries include:

• Tunista, Inc. Headquartered in Anchorage. Construction, IT consulting services, base maintenance, facility management, and other service and technical support areas.
  • Tunista Pacific Rim. Headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Federal government/military small business 8(a) contracting and commercial/private section work throughout the Pacific Rim.
  • Tunista Arctic Rim/TBI Construction LLC. Headquartered in Anchorage. Commercial, light industrial, multi-family, and Arctic construction, primarily in Alaska.

• Yulista Management Services, Inc. Headquartered in Anchorage. with Professional and technical services to government agencies, communities, and businesses throughout the U.S., including metrology, rapid prototyping and aerospace engineering, geochemical database design and conversion, and administrative services.

• Chiulista Services, Inc. (CSI). Remote site services, food services, temporary employment services, government contracting.
  • Mayflower Catering. Headquartered in Anchorage. Catering service.

• Ookichista Drilling Services, Inc. Oil well servicing.
  • Nordic-Calista Well Services, Inc. Joint venture with Nordic Well Servicing, Inc. to provide workover, completion and coil tubing services on the North Slope, Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk.

• Solstice Advertising. Advertising and public relations services, including graphic design, web site development, marketing strategy, media buying, and print, interactive, and electronic media.

• Ilikista Ventures, Inc.. Holding company for Calista's part ownership in Alaska Newspapers Inc., its subsidiary Camai Printing, and Pacific Northwest Title of Alaska.

Majority owner

Calista is majority owner of:

• Alaska Newspapers, Inc. (ANI). Headquartered in Anchorage. Publisher of six weekly Alaska newspapers serving small communities primarily in Bush Alaska. ANI also publishes the quarterly magazine First Alaskans and a variety of special publications including the Alaska Bush Shopper, visitor's guides, and programs.
  • Camai Printing. Headquartered in Anchorage. Full-service commercial printing operation specializing in traditional print services, such as printing of letterhead, business cards, 4-color posters, brochures, and envelopes as well as newsprint web press printing services.

Minority owner

Calista Corporation is 40 percent owner of:

• Pacific Northwest Title Company of Alaska. Headquartered in Anchorage. Title insurance.
  • Fairbanks Title Agency, Inc. Headquartered in Fairbanks.
  • Title Insurance Agency. Headquartered in Juneau.
  • Southcentral Title Agency. Headquartered in Kenai.

References

• Calista Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
• Corporations Database. Calista Corporation. Division of Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.

External links

• Calista Corporation (official website)