Declaration Sophie Minich, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation et al. v. Mnuchin, No. 1:20-cv-01002 (D.D.C.), Doc. 45-6 (May 5, 2020)

Summary

Declaration of Sophie Minich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI), in Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, et al. v. Mnuchin, Case No. 1:20-cv-1002 (APM), U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, Document 45-6, filed May 5, 2020, in support of the Motion to Intervene by Alaska Native Village Corporation Association (ANVCA) and the ANCSA Regional Association (ARA). It states that CIRI has 8,386 Alaska Native shareholders and acts as the Indian tribe for its at-large shareholders under federal law. It describes services delivered through CIRI tribal organizations, including Southcentral Foundation, which it states received $146,172,345 in FY 2019. It is dated May 2, 2020.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“Declaration Sophie Minich, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation et al. v. Mnuchin, No. 1:20-cv-01002 (D.D.C.), Doc. 45-6 (May 5, 2020).” Original at storage.courtlistener.com. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/declaration-sophie-minich-confederated-tribes-of-the-chehalis-reservat-290f1d2927/, SHA-256 43020603db847bc8d4afbe07afd2e3c10347a3ac1c420c80ebbc539fe6f7d5d1.

Full text

Text recognized from a scanned document; may contain errors.

I]
DocuSign Envelope |D: 95¢F 8RG0 AACE RSFOO PY RE PE Document 45-6 Filed 05/05/20 Page 1 of 6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE
CHEHALIS RESERVATION, et al.,
PLAINTIFFS,

Case No. 1:20-cv-1002 (APM)

v. Consolidated

STEVEN MNUCHIN, SECRETARY, UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY,

DEFENDANT.

DECLARATION OF COOK INLET REGION, INC. INSUPPORT OF MOTION TO
INTERVENE

I, Sophie Minich, am over age 18, am of sound mind, and hereby declare the following in
support of the Motion to Intervene by Alaska Native Village Corporation Association
(““ANVCA”) and the ANCSA Regional Association (“ARA”). I have personal knowledge of the
facts set forth in this declaration (or have been informed of these facts and believe them to be
true). If called as a witness, I could and would competently testify thereto.

1. I am the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
(“CIRI’). I have served in that position since January 2013 and worked in other positions at
CIRI since October 1993.

2. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (“ANCSA”), passed in 1971, was the
first settlement of its kind between Native Americans and the federal government. The opening
words of ANCSA are “Congress finds and declares that there is an immediate need for a fair and
just settlement of all claims by Natives and Native groups of Alaska, based on aboriginal land
claims.” The carefully crafted legislation settled the aboriginal land claims of Alaska Native

people by mandating the formation of twelve for-profit corporations representing twelve

44599514.2 Declaration - |
Confederated Tribes, et al. v. Mnuchin, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Treasury
Case No. 1:20-cv-1002 (APM) (Consol idated)
I]
DocuSign Envelope |D: 95¢F 880 AACE RSFOO PL BE PE Document 45-6 Filed 05/05/20 Page 2 of 6

geographic regions of the state and more than 200 village corporations. ANCSA awarded Alaska
Native people surface and subsurface rights to 44 million acres of land and provided seed capital
as compensation for lands no longer available to them.

3. CIRI is the ANCSA regional corporation based in the Anchorage area. Today
CIRI has 8,386 Alaska Native shareholders. CIRI’s Alaska Native shareholders are of
Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Inupiat, Yup’ik, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq and Aleut/Unangax
descent. Approximately 38% of CIRI’s shareholders live in Anchorage and the Matanuska-
Susitna Valley, 22% in other parts of Alaska, and 40% in the Lower 48 states and Hawaii.

4. To receive the initial benefits provided by ANCSA, Alaska Native individuals had
to apply for enrollment. Enrollment was conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”), which reviewed the applications, determined whether
applicants met the eligibility requirements and decided into which ANCSA corporation eligible
individuals would be enrolled.

5. Pursuant to the BIA’s determinations, approximately 83% of CIRI’s original
shareholders were not enrolled into a village corporation and were instead enrolled in CIRI as “at
large” shareholders. Since the passage of ANCSA, CIRI has acted as the Indian tribe for these
shareholders in accordance with federal law.

6. CIRI is responsible for enhancing the lives of Alaska Native people, both
economically and socially. CIRI is defined in Section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), P.L. 93-638, 25 U.S.C. § 5304(e), as a tribe for the
purposes of receiving benefits and providing services under ISDEAA, including employment,
education, health, and other social and cultural heritage programs, and is eligible to compact
and/or contract with the federal government to provide those services in the Anchorage area.

While there are a number of federally recognized tribes in the CIRI region, there is no single

44599514.2 Declaration - 2
Confederated Tribes, et al. v. Mnuchin, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Treasury
Case No. 1:20-cv-1002 (APM) (Consol idated)
I]
DocuSign Envelope |D: 95¢F 889 AFA HECERSFOO PL BE PE Document 45-6 Filed 05/05/20 Page 3 of 6

federally recognized tribe that represents all Alaska Native and American Indian peoples in
Anchorage or significant urban areas in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, two of the most heavily
populated areas in Alaska. It has long been established that, for the Alaska Native and American
Indian peoples living in the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, CIRI
acts as the Indian tribe providing services in those areas. CIRI designees compact and/or contract
with local, state, and federal agencies to administer programs and activities of the tribal
governing body in order to enhance the socio-economic well-being, education, health, and
cultural heritage of Alaska Native and American Indian peoples living within the Cook Inlet
Region.

7. For the almost 50 years since the enactment of ANCSA, CIRI has had affiliated
non-profit organizations that provide critical services to close to 60,000 Alaska Native and
American Indian residents in the Anchorage area and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. CIRI has
designated, appointed, and authorized Southcentral Foundation (“SCF”) and Cook Inlet Tribal
Council (“CITC”) to compact BIA and Indian Health Service (“IHS”) programs and activities
pursuant to ISDEAA to deliver health and social services to Alaska Native and American Indian
peoples living in the CIRI region.

8. CITC is one of the CIRI tribal organizations that operates as a 638 compactor
under ISDEAA, pursuant to CIRI’s designated tribal authority. As a 638 compactor for almost
40 years, CITC has been providing critical social services (including child and family services,
educational and cultural programs, job placement and training, substance abuse services, and
welfare assistance) to tens of thousands of Alaska Native and American Indian residents of

Anchorage, without regard to the recipients’ home region, tribe or village. The wraparound

services provided by CITC’s 400 employees include Tribal Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families, Child Care subsidies, Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation, academic programs inside the

44599514.2 Declaration - 3
Confederated Tribes, et al. v. Mnuchin, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Treasury
Case No. 1:20-cv-1002 (APM) (Consol idated)
I]
DocuSign Envelope |D: 95¢F R89 AA HECERSFOO PY RE PE Document 45-6 Filed 05/05/20 Page 4 of 6

Anchorage School District, supervised visitation for families involved in the child welfare
system, and other critical services to the Alaska Native and American Indian peoples in the
Anchorage area. In addition, CITC administers an ISDEAA Compact and Funding Agreement
with the IHS to provide thousands of individuals a comprehensive continuum of recovery and
behavioral health services, including outpatient treatment and transitional and sober supportive
living.

9. Without CITC’s services, Alaska Native and American Indian peoples in the
Anchorage area will not have access to critical resources needed to address the COVID-19
pandemic. This vulnerable population is suffering disproportionately from the negative impacts
of the pandemic. CITC typically serves over 12,000 Alaska Native and American Indian peoples
annually. CITC expects those numbers to rise dramatically in the wake of the pandemic.
Indeed, although April numbers are not yet available, the data for January through March 2020
indicate that CITC has provided critical services in response to the pandemic, including
employment assistance, to over 1,000 individuals, employment and training services to over
1,500 individuals, on-site crisis intervention for 342 individuals, and financial support to efforts
to feed underserved communities in Anchorage.

10. SCF is another CIRI tribal organization and is designated, appointed and
authorized by CIRI to compact IHS programs and activities pursuant to ISDEAA. As a 638
compactor for more than 35 years, SCF delivers health services to Alaska Native and American
Indian peoples living in the CIRI region.

11. | Under SCF’s ISDEAA Compact and Funding Agreement with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, SCF agrees to administer, provide, and be responsible for the
programs, services, functions, and activities (PSFAs) described in its Funding Agreement. In FY

2019, SCF received $146,172,345 to provide such PSFAs to Alaska Native and American Indian

44599514.2 Declaration - 4
Confederated Tribes, et al. v. Mnuchin, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Treasury
Case No. 1:20-cv-1002 (APM) (Consol idated)
I]
DocuSign Envelope |D: 95¢F 8RG9 AFA CERSFOO LAE PE Document 45-6 Filed 05/05/20 Page 5 of 6

peoples living in the Municipality of Anchorage (excluding services provided by the Native
Village of Eklutna), the Matanuska-Susitna Valley (excluding services provided by Chickaloon
Native Village and Knik Tribal Council), and some other locations in Alaska.

12. The PSFAs delivered by SCF include primary care services; emergency services;
pediatric, obstetric and gynecological services; optometry services; audiology services;
chiropractic services; laboratory services; imaging services; pharmacy services; physical,
occupational, and speech therapy services; wellness, exercise, and health promotion services;
dental, orthodontic, endodontic, prosthodontic, and oral surgery services; residential and
outpatient behavioral health and substance use treatment services; domestic violence prevention
and educational services; and co-management of the Alaska Native Medical Center, a 168-bed
community and tertiary care hospital in Anchorage. SCF’s Active Native Users residing in
Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley total 59,221 persons, as reported by IHS in its FY
2019 Official Active User Population Report. SCF has more than 2,500 employees and owns or
operates 40 health clinics and facilities in Alaska.

13. Cook Inlet Housing Authority (“CIHA”) is another CIRI tribal organization
designated and authorized by CIRI, pursuant to CIRI’s designated tribal authority, to participate
in Federal programs to provide critical services to eligible Alaska Native and American Indian
peoples residing in the CIRI region. The Native American Housing and Assistance and Self
Determination Act of 1996, 25 U.S.C. 4101, et seq. (““NAHASDA”) was enacted by Congress to
establish a block grant funding program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development to provide Federal housing assistance to Alaska Native and American
Indian peoples consistent with principles of Indian self-determination. NAHASDA defines
“Indian tribe” for eligibility purposes using the same definition utilized in ISDEAA, including

ANCSA regional and village corporations. 25 U.S.C. 4103(13)(B). Since the enactment of

44599514.2 Declaration - 5
Confederated Tribes, et al. v. Mnuchin, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Treasury
Case No. 1:20-cv-1002 (APM) (Consol idated)
I]
DocuSign Envelope |D: 95¢F 889A CERSFOOY Bi PE Document 45-6 Filed 05/05/20 Page 6 of 6

NAHASDA, ANCSA Regional corporations, including CIRI, have been eligible recipients of
NAHASDA block grant funding. For more than 20 years, CIHA has been appointed as CIRI’s
tribally designated housing entity for the administration of NAHASDA grant funds and has
managed NAHASDA housing programs on behalf of eligible Alaska Native and American
Indian peoples in the CIRI region. Although CIHA does not technically operate under a 638
contract, it does play a similar role in providing critical housing services to underserved Alaska
Native and American Indian peoples, individuals who are facing even more critical housing
needs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. CIHA’s various housing programs recorded 9,465
distinct client contacts in 2019.

14. In short, it is CIRI’s entitlement to participate in Federal programs as an Indian
tribe under ISDEAA and other Federal statutes that allows CIRI and its designated tribal
organizations to provide these above-mentioned critical services to thousands of Alaska Native
and American Indian residents in the Anchorage area, without regard to their home region or any
tribal or village affiliation. The funding requirements for those critical services are in even
greater demand today, when the underserved communities in our region are suffering the
economic and health hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The undeniable fact is
that our Alaska Native and American Indian peoples will not receive these essential services
from any other source.

15. CIRI has duly submitted information to Treasury and/or BIA pursuant to the tribal
consultation guidelines issued by those agencies.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

DocuSigned by:

Sophie Minich

Dated this 2nd day of May, 2020.

44599514.2 Declaration - 6
Confederated Tribes, et al. v. Mnuchin, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Treasury
Case No. 1:20-cv-1002 (APM) (Consol idated)

File and source

File: 45-att6-declaration-sophie-minich.pdf
Size: 692,765 bytes
SHA-256: 43020603db847bc8d4afbe07afd2e3c10347a3ac1c420c80ebbc539fe6f7d5d1
Our copy: 45-att6-declaration-sophie-minich.pdf
Original: storage.courtlistener.com