The discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay created immediate pressure to resolve Alaska Native land claims in order to unlock pipeline development.
In 1968, Atlantic Richfield Company announced the discovery of a massive oil reserve at Prudhoe Bay. This discovery transformed Alaska’s unresolved Native land claims from a long-standing legal issue into a political and economic obstacle. Without a settlement, pipeline construction faced injunctions and federal delays. As a result, resolving Native claims became a prerequisite for national energy development, dramatically accelerating negotiations.
The speed imperative introduced here set a recurring pattern: structural decisions driven by urgency rather than long-term governance alignment. Many features of ANCSA—including finality clauses and corporate form—reflect this moment of acceleration.